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How to Fix Microsoft in Five (Not So) Easy Steps | |
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| Time: 10:21 EST/15:21 GMT | News Source: *Linked Within Post* | Posted By: Robert Stein | ||
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It's summer and the living is supposed to be easy. Easy, that is, unless you're Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer. Ballmer just can't seem to appease Microsoft shareholders, customers and watchdogs, and no wonder. The company has lurched from one PR mess to the next. Whether it's the embarrassment of Vista delays, the warnings about skyrocketing costs, or the market gains of competitors like Google and Apple, it seems Microsoft can't buy a break. Some are even predicting that Ballmer could soon move on (voluntarily or not) from his CEO post if Microsoft's stock doesn't shape up. | ||
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| #1 By 6859 (206.156.242.36) at 7/7/2006 8:44:46 AM |
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Step 6: Drop all new OS versions except Vista Ultimate/Premium and Vista Server. There's no darn reason to have more than one version, and this makes everyone's job easier.
Step 7: Really question if we need a new version of Office. Office 2003 is already excellent, what more junk do you need to do to it? Step 8: WGA and Activation should be replaced with a less intrusive method. Step 9: Start obeying the laws of the land...really obeying. Even if they suck. Step 10: Increase dividends to shareholders. |
| #2 By 32132 (64.180.219.241) at 7/7/2006 1:00:38 PM |
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"2. Face the hate"
No. There is no cure for hatred. OSS fanatics thrive on hatred, but to think they will change is amazingly stupid. Just keep pointing out that OSS is "Free as in puppies". Hatred spewing from sane appearing OSS fanatics will usually lose them business. Linux adoption is slowing and Linux on the desktop is as far away as it was in 1998. |
| #3 By 32132 (64.180.219.241) at 7/7/2006 1:04:22 PM |
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#1 "Step 9: Start obeying the laws of the land...really obeying. Even if they suck. "
Only if they are the same laws. Don't give away IE, unless Netscape/Mozilla/Phoenix/Firebird/Firefox does. Don't bundle a media player with your OS ... unless Apple or Linux does. Give away your protocols ... as long as Apple opens up its DRM too. Promise to stop competing on the day OSS stops stealing everyones ideas. |
| #4 By 9589 (71.49.184.222) at 7/7/2006 1:11:02 PM |
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Foley drumming fingers . . .
Foley tapping feet . . . Foley walking around desk . . . Foley, "Hey, I know. Let's criticize Microsoft. I've only made my post career at Microsoft doing just that (a new angle on getting people to subscribe to your magazine)." What happened, Foley, didn't get in on the bonaza of stock options when you were an employee and you are making Microsoft "pay." |
| #5 By 15406 (216.191.227.68) at 7/7/2006 1:42:33 PM |
| You two are a sad, sad case. There's Parkkkkker spouting the same nonsense that has been debunked time and again, and jdhawk doing his best to shoot the messenger because he can't actually counter anything Foley said. |
| #6 By 23275 (68.17.42.38) at 7/7/2006 11:13:36 PM |
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#4, It's called pissing outside the tent, or in her case on it - it's the lowest form of low.
She likely didn't fit in.... always carping... #1 is right about WGA - they need to fix it, or dump it and fast. Two class action suits this early on is not good news. |
| #7 By 9589 (71.49.184.222) at 7/8/2006 12:05:45 AM |
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Well, Latch, let's start with Foley's last bullet: Get smart with clients. If Foley had written the title of her article: "Microsoft Gets Smart and Develops Superb Ajax Toolkit" the tech press would have yawned. Foley instead titles her article what she did because saying something positive about a company and/or their efforts, especially Microsoft, doesn't get noticed.
Meanwhile, the stock price of Microsoft is another issue. With a float at 10B+, it is difficult for the stock to move forward. Yet, over the last five years earnings are up over 50%, income and EPS are up over 75% all while increasing ROE and ROA and holding profit margins steady. By any of the above measures, Microsoft is an impressive company. Given, that Microsoft has to constantly reinvent its products and has successfully gone into several new businesses during this time frame makes them all the more impressive. Oh, and this isn't something that is done in five easy steps; Microsoft just makes it look like it. But then, I am not a scribbler trying to impress my tech buddies and ostensibly "garner" subscriptions for my magazine. |
| #8 By 3339 (72.200.128.183) at 7/8/2006 12:32:26 PM |
| jdhawk, it's Microsoft's own fault for having a stagnant stock: they've issued so many shares and split so many times because they wanted everyone to own them. That produces a value stock. What am I to be impressed by? If I purchased the stock any time in the last 6 years, I would have lost money? Mmm, impressive. As for reinventing its products, huh? Yes, Windows and Office have changed some, but not reinvented. Almost every other market they have entered they have failed at. |
| #9 By 3653 (68.52.143.149) at 7/8/2006 4:28:46 PM |
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the smart money sold msft stock 6 months ago and bought Apple... and been there for the 25% free-fall...
http://finance.yahoo.com/q/bc?s=AAPL&t=3m or maybe even bought RedHat 2 years ago and broke dead even http://finance.yahoo.com/q/bc?s=RHAT&t=2y&l=on&z=m&q=l&c= people, stop quoting HEADLINES. You all act like a bunch of furkin' lemmings. regarding foley, I'm just glad to see her expressing some ORIGINAL thought. Seems like 99% of her posts are simply links to other blogs/news. What does she do the rest of the day? This post was edited by mooresa56 on Saturday, July 08, 2006 at 16:33. |
| #10 By 9589 (71.49.184.222) at 7/9/2006 1:16:47 AM |
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sodajerk, I think I said that about the stock price as well. Regarding their product line and its earnings and profits, you need to read their annual reports and financial papers. The product lines that they have entered would be "off the chart" earnings and profits to a much smaller company. Hundreds of millions of earnings and profits tend to get buried in a tens of billions dollar company. You can stamp your feet and huff and puff about almost anything else regarding Microsoft, but you have to admit that they are a superb company when it comes to making a buck.
By comparison, pick up a Sun Microsystems annual report. They haven't made a profit in four years, yet booked $12B in earnings over the last 12 month period. Or take Apple's record. Here you have a company that earned about ten cents on the dollar. To put that in prospective, that is a couple more cents on the dollar than the so-called "big five" oil companies make on average. Earnings and profits that some in our Congress would like to take away from them - but that's another story. By the way, those stock options that now plague the company in the form of billions of shares of stock propelled more employees to millionaire status then any company in history. |
| #11 By 3339 (72.200.128.183) at 7/9/2006 12:34:53 PM |
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jdhawk, no, I don't have to think it's off the chart. I think it's bizarre that a company that claimed it "could not" reorganize 8 years ago has reorganized 5 times in 6 years shuffling around revenue to look good. I see no reason to compare them to small companies. Show me a product line, not a "division", that is making a profit at all, and I can show you 3 products for every one which loses money.
Nor do I have any issue with other companies making less profit on larger revenues. I can look at Apple and see profit and enormous profit growth. Whether that profit is a smaller percent of revenue is meaningless: yes, look at those oil companies making billions. Exactly. Why would I care if it is a capital intensive business? That is frequently the case. And why would I give a damn if MS employees are making tons off of their failures? I prefer a company that succeeds and makes money for the investors. |
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