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'Of Course We Are In a Post-PC World,' Says Ray Ozzie

Posted by Soulskill on from the you-can-pry-my-pc-from-my-cold,-dead-hands dept.

An anonymous reader writes "Speaking at a tech conference in Seattle this week, former Microsoft Chief Software Architect Ray Ozzie had some interesting things to say about the state of the computing industry. 'People argue about "are we in a post-PC world?" Why are we arguing? Of course we are in a post-PC world. That doesn't mean the PC dies, that just means that the scenarios that we use them in, we stop referring to them as PCs, we refer to them as other things.' Ozzie also thinks Microsoft's future as a company is strongly tied to Windows 8's reception. 'If Windows 8 shifts in a form that people really want to buy the product, the company will have a great future. ... It's a world of phones and pads and devices of all kinds, and our interests in general purpose computing — or desktop computing — starts to wane and people start doing the same things and more in other scenarios.'"

14 of 399 comments (clear)

  1. A Brave New World by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    of greasy fingerprints.

    1. Re:A Brave New World by oodaloop · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Yes, say goodbye to your pristine mice and sanitary keyboards, which were never full of crumbs, hair and other disgusting detritus.

      --
      Tic-Tac-Toe, Global Thermonuclear War, and relationships all have the same winning move.
    2. Re:A Brave New World by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

      You know what is pristine and sanitary? My screen.

    3. Re:A Brave New World by DeathFromSomewhere · · Score: 5, Funny

      I really did not want the image of a slashdotter showering with his keyboard. I am now forever scarred. I hope you are happy.

      --
      -1 overrated isn't the same thing as "I disagree".
    4. Re:A Brave New World by gmack · · Score: 5, Interesting

      No. I tried several brands of those and you are right they are annoying to type on and I hated them all. This is the HP Washable keyboard another bonus was that I used to have an ancient keyboard that I loved because it felt *solid* but I lost it when I moved out of my parents house 11 years ago. This is the first keyboard that I've owned since then that feels solid enough that I actually don't find myself wishing for my old keyboard.

  2. Ruhroh by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    "Ozzie also thinks Microsoft's future as a company is strongly tied to Windows 8's reception."

    They're doomed.

    1. Re:Ruhroh by MightyMartian · · Score: 5, Insightful

      I think Microsoft as a major player in the consumer market is probably going to fade. I still think they're going to be a major player in the medium-sized business and corporate world for some time to come. But as far as consumer devices go, they're so behind Apple and Android now that I just don't really see how they'll catch up.

      --
      The world's burning. Moped Jesus spotted on I50. Details at 11.
    2. Re:Ruhroh by lgw · · Score: 5, Interesting

      "Ozzie also thinks Microsoft's future as a company is strongly tied to Windows 8's reception."

      They're doomed.

      They may well be. It's funny - I've been reading /. since before moderation, and for many years every year was going to be "the year of Linux on the desktop - this time for sure!" Well, now that that's become more of a running joke, it might actually become true. General purpose home computers will likely revert to a hobbyist thing before too many more years, and of course Linux will dominate at that point.

      Non-hobby home PCs are fading fast., and it's really just PC gaming keeping Windows on home-built rigs today, which is a shrinking niche. The release of the Steam phone apps (even though they aren't really selling games yet) heralds the end. Once the big MMOs shift their client focus to mobile platforms (and that's coming for sure), it won't take long before there's no real point in running Windows on your home-built PC except that virtualized XP instance you use for classic games.

      --
      Socialism: a lie told by totalitarians and believed by fools.
    3. Re:Ruhroh by LordLucless · · Score: 5, Interesting

      I think a lot of Microsoft's success with consumer-grade PCs has been because of their dominance in the business world. You go out to buy a home PC, you want the same sort of OS and tools that you find on your work computer.

      I think it used to work that way. Back in the day, computers were new and expensive. People's first experience was what they used at work. When they bought their computer from home, they bought the same one they were used to. Note that the hobbyists, who had experience with computers outside business, overwhelmingly turned to the Commodores, Amigas, Apples, Spectrums, etc.

      Now, though, people's first experience with computers is in their home. In fact, IT departments are seeing the opposite effect, where Apple users are demanding they be able to use the same system in business that they do at home. Now that computers are cheap, consumer items, instead of expensive business items slowly making a transition into the home, consumer experience is becoming more of a driving force than business experience.

      --
      Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean there isn't an invisible demon about to eat your face
    4. Re:Ruhroh by Dahamma · · Score: 5, Interesting

      Most businesses are not profitable when they start, and many have a business model of selling a loss leader for future profit. That's how the Playstation started, and for a while (until the PS3 fiasco) it was Sony's most profitable business.

      The XBox 360 is only 5-6 years into its "10 year lifespan", and Microsoft has built a huge dedicated customer base with Live (40M paying Gold subscribers, many of whom, just like with Apple and iTunes are at least somewhat locked in with various DLC, games, movies, and gamer rating, etc). I think your information about the Xbox's profitability is way out of date - Xbox/entertainment now makes up about 20% of Microsoft's total revenue, compared to about 30% for its business division.

      Wagering a careful look (ie a couple Google searches for quotes), from their last quarterly releases & analysis:

      "Microsoft's strongest growth came from the Entertainment division where the Xbox resides, however. That group's revenue jumped 14 percent to $4.24 billion, a new high. The Xbox 360 installed base now totals approximately 66 million consoles and 18 million Kinect sensors, Microsoft said. Xbox Live now has 40 million members worldwide, an increase of 33 percent from the prior year period."

      "Microsoft's fourth-quarter results showed an interesting shift, as Microsoft's Xbox business unit threatens to pass its Windows division in terms of revenue. If the current trends continue, Windows and its related businesses could rank fourth within the company, ahead of its perpetually money-losing online business."

      I'm sure praising anything Microsoft has done in any way will get me modded down (I already see my first comment was "Overrated" and my 2nd "Underrated", nice!) - but you have to give some credit where it's due in this case, they stuck with it and finally figured out how to build a real business around the Xbox.

  3. Then you're doomed, but I dont think its true. by Kenja · · Score: 5, Insightful

    "If Windows 8 shifts in a form that people really want to buy the product, the company will have a great future."

    From what I've seen, people will not be flocking to Windows 8 of their own free will. But the "good" news is that their will has little to do with it. New computes will come with Windows 8, and no doubt there will be some software feature tie ins that will require it. Much like Vista and DirectX.

    --

    "Have you ever thought about just turning off the TV, sitting down with your kids, and hitting them?"
  4. Re:You can have my PC by Sez+Zero · · Score: 5, Interesting

    In the beginning, only the nerds had PCs.

    Then they went all mainstream. Mouses. Color Monitors. Facebook. There came a time when even little old ladies had a PC.

    That's now changing. Being in a "Post-PC world" just means that the little old ladies and other consumers of digital entertainment will use some other non-PC device.

    The best part: nerds will finally be left alone with their PCs. I, for one, look forward to this wonderful "Post-PC Utopia."

  5. Re:You can have my PC by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I bought a desktop yesterday, because I still want to do some of the stuff you can't do on all your newfangled devices.
    I still want to write, draw, compose, and program.
    In a word, I want to create.
    How ironic that it used to be Apple that was known for empowering the creative types.

  6. Re:You can have my PC by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Interesting

    There is a huge push to pry general computing out of the hands of citizens. Tablets are conditioning us for centralized storage (aka The Cloud), and if it ever gains traction, the next step will be to centralize processing power and "stream" the video output to our dumb terminals. It's all about controlling what people do on their systems, because they know they will never turn the internet into one-way information flow without wresting the processor and long-term storage from personal ownership. Once the corporate collective controls these, then we will be told what we can and cannot do with them, and how much we have to pay to do (or avoid) it. We really need to build a publicly-owned infrastructure for the net, let the high end of the market be controlled by Big Money.