08.10.10
Microsoft Gives Three New Signs of Desperation
Surrender of Lord Cornwallis
Summary: The monopolist from Redmond exhibits symptoms of concern and surrender
Microsoft’s IronRuby appears to be dead (disbanded) and another nearly-confirmatory report states: “This leaves Tomáš Matoušek as the sole member of the IronRuby team; Microsoft had already halved the size of the development team to two people a year ago, which according to Schementi, severely limited the teams agility, leaving them unable to deliver IronRuby integration with VisualStudio and delaying the VisualStudio IronPython integration. The final straw for Schementi came when his manager asked him if there was anything he wanted to work on that wasn’t Ruby.”
Separately we learn from Chips B Malroy about “[a]nother small employee benefit cut, squeeze your own employees for extra cash.” Here is the ‘beef’:
Microsoft is ending a discount licensing program that has proven to be hugely popular among companies’ employees wanting cheap copies of Office.
Microsoft is clearly going the wrong way and its CEO is reportedly being pressured out, no matter the consequences.
According to this, sales of Vista 7 disappoint so much that Microsoft — under Steve Ballmer’s leadership — is beginning to attack Apple more and more (rather than promote its own offerings).
The managers stalking the halls in Redmond must finally feel confident in Windows 7, enough that heading into the back-to-school season, they are pitching an Apple attack ad that warns users that “Macs might spoil your fun.” However, Microsoft’s problem is that the piece appears unlikely to square with reality of the target segment: the happening crowd on campus.
When Microsoft shuts down projects, screws its own staff, and even attacks the competition, then it means only one thing; Microsoft is losing it. █
“First they ignore you, then they ridicule you, then they fight you, then you win.”
–(Usually attributed to) Mahatma Gandhi
gnufreex said,
August 11, 2010 at 2:44 am
IronRuby was Microsoft attempt to EEE Ruby. Danger is not over yet, as long as someone works with that.
What worry me even more is IronPython and Microsoft Scala. They are trying to poison every language as it shows up.
Moreover, I advise that Redmond must be destroyed. -Cato the Elder, slightly edited