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Windows: Not Doomed Yet

Posted by Soulskill on from the cash-on-hand-is-a-wonderful-buoy dept.

Nerval's Lobster writes "Earlier this week, ZDNet columnist Steven Vaughan-Nichols wrote an article, 'Windows: It's over,' that sparked a lot of passionate online debate. His thesis was simple: Microsoft's dominance of the computing market is coming to an end, accelerated by the incipient failure of Windows 8. Make no mistake about it: there's no way to fudge the numbers in a way that suggests Windows 8 is proving a blockbuster. But maybe it's not doomsday for Windows or Microsoft. After all, the company still has a lot of really smart developers and engineers, a whole ton of cash, and the ability to let its projects play out over years. So here's the question, Slashdotters: Is Windows really doomed? And, if not, what can be done to turn things around? (No originality points awarded for a 'Fire Steve Ballmer' response.)"

2 of 737 comments (clear)

  1. Windows has no competition on the desktop by cinarus · · Score: 0, Flamebait

    So it will never die. GNU/Linux just doesn't cut it and you can't run OSX if you don't buy Apple hardware. It's been like 20 years since the first Linux release and still we're having problems with sound cards, wireless networking and bluetooth adapters crashing down the whole system. Until somebody steps up and writes a stable-API OS alternative for the common PC, Windows will never die. It might lose some sales due to the nature of computers being sold (i.e. more people use tablets because they didn't need a desktop in the first place), but as long as desktop/laptop computers are being produced, I don't see how it can die.

  2. What trend? by Gription · · Score: -1, Flamebait

    So Windows 8 continues a trend started by Win 7? Huh??? There is 0, zero, zilch performance improvement in Win 8. Win 7 didn't need a performance improvement on any new hardware so it is a non issue anyway.

    The point were Windows targets a path to oblivion is when they take the world's most predominant desktop OS and optimize it ONLY for hand held use. They have directly spit in the eye of their intrenched desktop users by supplying an unusable desktop OS for simple greed.
    What has happened is MS has been watching Apple rake in 30% of every sale in the Apple Store and they are salivating to get a piece of every sale of PC software. Win 8 RT is their intended destination. So what if they piss off half their customers? Taking half of their "buy it once" customers and turning them into "tithe 30% like a good automaton" will pay much better.

    Of course it ignores that basic rule of business that making it so a customer wants to do business with you guarantees success, and in five years it won't be paying "much better"...