04.05.09
John Dvorak’s Latest Eulogies to Microsoft
LIKE HIM or hate him, the man is considered influential and his words on Microsoft as of late have not been particularly encouraging. He has already moved some computer/s of his to GNU/Linux, which impressed him. Now he opines that Google, a ‘Linux poster child’ in some people’s eyes, may replace Microsoft.
The point is that Google has given us only glimpses of its potential, and if we were to equate it with Microsoft, it would be like buying Microsoft stock today for 30 cents to 40 cents a share.
In a separate new piece, Dvorak argues that “Microsoft’s Negative Brand Image Gets Worse.”
It’s the Microsoft brand that attracts negative attention, don’t you think? I’ve said this before in other columns, but Microsoft has lost control of its own brand image. The company lost it years ago, and I now see the brand itself as a negative factor. The exercise above confirms this if the conclusions are correct, and I believe they are.
We have already covered many reports and surveys about Microsoft’s ever-declining brand, so this is factual.
Speaking of branding, The New York Times has this new report on “Microsoft and the Corporate Identity Crisis.” Microsoft’s identity management ambitions face new hurdles as parts of the company are falling apart.
It goes without saying that Microsoft has alternative business models in mind. Microsoft’s strategy of fining or sending its partners to prison sure continues.
A federal judge in Milwaukee has ordered Anthony Boldin, operator of AtomicPark.com and other businesses, to pay $1.2 million to Microsoft Corp. for selling counterfeit software.
Microsoft has another strategy of making money from other companies, namely software patents. An update on this subject will come shortly.
This monopolist’s fall will happen only once, so it ought to be captured and documented properly. █
“Every time you use Google, you’re using a machine running the Linux kernel.”
Qardia said,
April 5, 2009 at 2:22 pm
Think of Stalingrad. Microsoft-Novell is the axis.
David Gerard Reply:
April 5th, 2009 at 3:17 pm
But that means … Linux is COMMUNISM!!!11!one!
Roy Schestowitz said,
April 5, 2009 at 3:30 pm
David, are you sure?
Yggdrasil said,
April 5, 2009 at 9:03 pm
John Dvorak is considered an idiot by many, and rightfully so. This is the same guy that supported the theory that Apple would dump OSX and switch to windows after moving to Intel chips.
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1895,1927885,00.asp
How about when he decided that Podcasting won’t work: http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1759,1682993,00.asp
Then a year later jumps sides and declares it the next big thing:
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,1855908,00.asp
John has a great strategy. If he’s wrong on one issue he just comes out with a different view in another article! He truly lives up to the old saying, “Even a broken clock is right twice a day”, and that’s pretty much what he’s banking on. Add some high seniority to the mix and you can be sure that even being wrong isn’t going to put his job in jeopardy.
People don’t consider him influential, rather he’s a form of entertainment that pulls in readers who simply read his articles to find out what crazy, off the wall thing he’ll come up with next. Not unlike the same reason I come here. None of that matters for you though. Right now John is saying something that makes you very happy, so you’ll give him the coverage he needs to stay afloat, regardless of how inaccurate, biased, or completely insane he has been in the past.
David Gerard Reply:
April 6th, 2009 at 8:27 am
It is true that John Dvorak’s business model is click-trolling.
G. Michaels said,
April 6, 2009 at 12:23 am
Apparently people *can* redeem themselves in the eyes of BoycottBoy. A simple Google search reveals for example instances where articles by Dvorak were called “idiocy” and “trolling”:
http://boycottnovell.com/2008/11/20/irc-log-19112008-2/#tNov%2019%2022:09:06
http://boycottnovell.com/2009/01/04/irc-log-03012009-2/#tJan%2003%2021:31:03
Also, search the site for “An open letter to eWeek” where, hilarity of the content aside, Dvorak’s work is used as a negative example. I’d paste a link but that would probably not get past the curiously strong spam filter.
This is consistent with insulting Mary Jo Foley and Matt Asay in his IRC channel, and then using things they write as supporting arguments for his blog posts. Also amusing is the constant slagging of ZDNet paired with the almost spiritual joy he displays when he is mentioned there.
I don’t know how they roll in the land of King Arthur, but where I come from we call this hypocrisy.
Lyle Howard Seave said,
April 6, 2009 at 10:44 am
Dvorak is using Gnu/Linux?
Let me just check outside for flying porcine.
He is what he is: entertainment.
Is he worse than that old guy who writes for the WSJ, Mossberg?
Is he worse than the tabloid star Ashlee Vance who now writes for the NYC?
No, yet those two have captive audiences of non-techies so what they say is the gospel to the average reader.
Dvorak’s ‘influence’ is only felt in specialized tech publications so I think Vance and Mossberg are worse than Dvorak.
He’s like the cranky old uncle who farts at the Christmas table.
You smile and move on to something else.
His recent Redmond bashing are noteworthy because its never been this bad. There are too many tech writers who are still deathly afraid to say things that are too critical of MS for a variety of reasons. And you know how the lemmings who write in tech are: if someone does/says something, others will follow suit. THATS why I find it interesting.
People love piling on so you have to wonder if John is at the forefront of something (probably not but weirder things have happened)
Ah, what the hell…. dvorak.org/blog …. you can all have a drink now.
As for click-trolling. Please, name me one paid blogger who doesnt do that? Its the nature of the beast. Sensationalism attracts attention.
On a side note, I dont think its the spam filter which are the problem, its those damn complicated captcha math questions which are the problem.
As always, the long articles are excellent and the links section are the best of any FLOSS site.
LHS
David Gerard Reply:
April 6th, 2009 at 10:46 am
There’s trying to get hits, and there’s blatant lying for attention.
I first read John Dvorak in Mac User in the late ’80s. He was pretty good then. Or I just hadn’t read him long enough, or something.
This was just before the boom times of the ’90s, when he was putting his name to twenty-four columns a month. Most of the actual word arrangement for which was done by his research staff.
Roy Schestowitz Reply:
April 6th, 2009 at 10:53 am
Good point. But The Register, like The Inquirer, is heading the wrong way now.