Every year like clockwork, we see the same “Death of Microsoft” articles coming out of the media & the blogosphere.
Why?
It generates hits, sells ads, & it appeases the egos of of certain narcissists.
- 2001: “Microsoft Waltzes The Next Step In The Dance Of Death (Avoidance)” http://www.macobserver.com/columns/thebackpage/2001/20010810.shtml
- 2003: “Microsoft is dying slowly”
http://skatterbrainz.com/2007/04/16/microsoft-is-dying-slowly/ - 2004: “Microsoft Is Dead. Long Live Microsoft.”
https://www.nytimes.com/2004/07/23/opinion/microsoft-is-dead-long-live-microsoft.html - 2005: “R.I.P. Microsoft” http://abcnews.go.com/Business/SiliconInsider/Story?id=508399&page=1
- 2006: “The Microsoft malaise: Eight signs that the software giant is dead in the water”
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/eight-signs-microsoft-is-dead-in-the-water - 2007: “Microsoft is dead”
http://www.paulgraham.com/microsoft.html - 2008: “Are we looking at the death of Microsoft Windows?” http://webtrends.about.com/b/2008/04/11/are-we-looking-at-the-death-of-microsoft-windows.htm
- 2008: “Is the Cloud the End of Microsoft?”
http://www.dashboardinsight.com/news/news-articles/is-the-cloud-the-end-of-microsoft.aspx - 2009: “Microsoft is dying” http://distorted-loop.com/2009/07/24/microsoft-is-dying/
- 2009: “Microsoft is doomed.” http://blogs.computerworld.com/microsoft_is_doomed_again
- 2011: “Is Microsoft dying?” http://www.aiim.org/community/blogs/expert/Is-Microsoft-Dying
- 2011: “Microsoft-Watchers See A Company In Decline” http://www.informationweek.com/byte/microsoft-watchers-see-a-company-in-decl/231002608
And every few years we get another ad-revenue generating, attention-getting reason why Microsoft is going down in flames:
- First, it was Macintosh & the GUI.
- Then, it was Netscape and the “browser OS”.
- Then it was Java, “write once, run anywhere”, and the Java OS.
- Then it was Thin clients & “the end of the fat desktop”.
- Then it was the DOJ & “the breakup of the monopoly”.
- Then it was Linux/OSS & “the death of proprietary software”.
- Then it was VDI & “the return to mainframe computing”.
- Then it was HTML5 & “web-based applications”.
… and this season it’s the “post PC era” & the emergence of Consumerization of IT (COIT) solutions that will displace Microsoft everywhere.
With all that being said, look what that clown Marc Benioff is mouthing off about now in 2012:
- NEWS: Salesforce.com CEO predicts Windows 8 will be “the end” for the OS
http://www.neowin.net/news/salesforcecom-ceo-predicts-windows-8-will-be-the-end-for-the-os
Being a Larry Ellison disciple, I guess the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.
kurtsh
Kurt's Thoughts 
Nice summation, I was planning to do something like this, thanks for doing the plumbing. Its insane just thinking of the amount of people predicting the death of Microsoft through the years. And the current conspiracy of the Tech-blogosphere to neglect any good news from MS and pounce on every piece of bad news is saddening. It seems there’s a collective agenda to see to the doom of the Giant. And how do you eat an elephant again? Yes, indeed, just bit by bit.
I think most folks lack perspective, especially today’s media & the the blogosphere. Generally today, if you’re a journalist, you probably haven’t ascended to the ranks of editor & you’re probably not very experienced. Journalism doesn’t pay much and the industry’s integrity has gone into the crapper… but to compete, sensationalism, rumor-mongering, and unverified sources are all the rage to keep up with the blogs & less credentialed, less ethically secured sites. Bloggers for the most part aren’t journalists, although many claim they are. Bloggers single source everything – if at all – never strive for an unbiased viewpoint, and virtually always have an agenda. I know I certainly do – but I don’t walk CES with media credentials either, nor do I strive to.
The bottom line is for journalists, you can’t depend on the media to ever give anyone they have a bias against a break. And when the media predominanantly uses Macintoshes due to Apple’s early emphasis on WYSIWYG journalist tools & media industry focus, (just as they did with video/audio production & entertainment) they’re gonna be bias to their platform.
The bottom line for bloggers is that these are either dudes with a LOT of spare time on their hands (i.e. not gainfully employed) or folks with both an overabundance of opinion & self-rightous self-esteem. Often times, these two groups are one in the same & most often they are open source folks or homegrown Apple fanboi consumer-types. And the result is a lot of angry, typewritten noise that overwhelms any balance that might otherwise exist, because the “other opinion” is too busy… y’know… doing their day jobs & collecting a salary.
What about me? My business blog is how I expand my reach to my customers. I GET PAID A SALARY FOR A JOB & my blog helps me do my job – so in essence, I get paid to write my blog. This comment is being written on a post on my personal blog which is just some place for me to vent, write up something for posterity, or post something that isn’t appropriate for my business blog. Why did I choose to post this here? I generally reserve personal opinions for my personal blog. And it shows, frankly. I don’t get even a 10th of the traffic to this blog that I do on my other one.
But here’s the good news:
1) PowerPC & RISC was going to destory Intel & CISC.
2) Java was going to make the operating system irrelevant.
3) PC Gaming was going to die with the rise of consoles.
4) Macs were going to rise up based on the halo effect of iPhone/iPad.
etc. etc.
For folks that know their history, know that the media is rarely correct on their predictions that deviate from Captain Obvious, no matter how much they push or advocate for their bias. Because ultimately, they don’t control people’s pocketbooks & they don’t control people’s business needs. Customers purchase the solutions that 1) FIRST, meet their needs, then 2) SECONDLY, delivers the best deal.
Microsoft & its partners do a pretty good job over time of #1 (version 3, blahblahblah), and virtually always delivers on #2.