06.21.08
How Microsoft Became More Frail
Microsoft has had hardly any valuable output for about a month. I know this for sure because I watch the company’s news very closely. I’ve done this for years, so I have a basis for comparison.
Whether the employees just dedicate their time to patent applications or sharpen pencils all day, who knows? But for a company with declining profits and many known issues (e.g. struggling Web/search business, Vista as proof that Windows codebase is EoL, Zune and XBox losing billions) this is, altogether, a bad sign.
“Microsoft is going through the same phase that IBM once went through.”They burn an awful lot of cash just buying companies (along with their people) and they are not left with much in the bank now. Apple has almost just as much in terms of savings. Their stock, MSFT, has been recharged (buybacks) with money that could buy entire nations, yet the stock price remains low. It’s still hovering around the 52-week low barrier.
The writings are on the wall. Microsoft is going through the same phase that IBM once went through. It doesn’t take a genius to see that all the senior people, whose presence became synonymous with Microsoft and its crown jewel products, decided to leave. They don’t see growth, so perhaps they despair and lose their morale. The void they leave behind might explain the lack of direction and the lack of output.
Going forward, it is important to track and explore how Microsoft stirs up trouble beyond its territories (harming its competition instead of improving self). Microsoft did this before and it does this all the time. █
“Gathering intelligence on enemy activities is critical to the success of the Slog. We need to know who their allies are and what differences exist between them and their allies (there are always sources of tension between allies), so that we can find ways to split ‘em apart Reading the trade press, lurking on newsgroups, attending conferences, and (above all) talking to ISVs is essential to gathering this intelligence.”
–Microsoft, internal document [PDF]
Highlight: Novell was the first to acknowledge that Microsoft FUD tactics had substance. Novell then used anti-Linux FUD to market itself. 
Highlight: Xandros let Microsoft make patent claims and brag about (paid-for) OOXML support. 
Highlight: Linspire's CEO not only fell into Microsoft arms, but he also assisted the company's attack on GNU/Linux. 
Highlight: Microsoft craves pseudo (proprietary) standards and gets its way using proxies and influence which it buys. 
Highlight: The invasion into the open source world is intended to leave Linux companies neglected, due to financial incentives from Microsoft. 
Analysis: Xen, an open source hypervisor, possibly fell victim to Microsoft's aggressive (and stealthy) acquisition-by-proxy strategy.