01.06.11

Gemini version available ♊︎

Microsoft’s Hardware Ventures an Embarrassment

Posted in Hardware, Microsoft at 3:20 pm by Dr. Roy Schestowitz

Mouse with Microsoft logo

Aside from “Microsoft”-branded peripherals, Microsoft cannot make hardware work economically

Summary: An overview of news about Windows Home Server, Xbox 360, Zune, and KIN

AN IMPORTANT POINT that was stressed earlier today is that participation alone is no guarantee of success. The statement rings true especially when it comes to Microsoft’s business in hardware and on the Web. This post will only deal with the former bit, based on the past 2 months’ headlines that somehow we missed.

Let us begin with the latest story of Windows Home Server. The Linux-based Drobo puts it to shame and the staff mocks it, with the CEO saying that “It Looks Like Microsoft Just Gave Up” (that’s the headline!). To quote: “Whilst the Windows Home Server community continues to rail against Microsoft’s decision to axe the platform’s core storage technology from the next release (with the exception of the Windows Team Blog where comments have been switched off for the last few days), Drobo’s CEO, Tom Buiocchi, today shared his take on Redmond’s decision.”

Here is older information about it and some more articles [1, 2, 3] about HP dumping Windows for Linux on home servers. A Microsoft sympathisers’ site published “The Vail debacle: Why Microsoft still doesn’t get the consumer” and it turns out that in other form factors too HP is dumping Windows in favour of Linux. In embedded devices there is little or no room for resource hogs like Vista 7, which is gradually being dumped/neglected by partners like Lenovo (it can be added that Lenovo complements with/aggregates Linux in some of its products).

"Microsoft products are dying quietly" is what we said very recently and the list is up to about 60 dead products by now. There are many failures in hardware, which means products where Microsoft is an integral part that is actively advertised (like “Windows Home Server”, not just Xbox). In our Wiki there is a page dedicated to “Microsoft – Consumer Hardware” and it includes a summary of posts about Xbox 360, which has just turned 5, suiting buyers of the same age pretty much (well, bar the gore and all).

Be very, very careful of disinformation in the English-speaking press. Microsoft characteristically uses US-only numbers to lie (by omission) about its position, leading to the illusion that the Japanese counterparts are suddenly losing. That’s not the case at all. “Xbox 360 sales take sixth in Japan” say this report and this report from December, whereas a January 2011 report states in its headline that “Xbox 360 demand drops to No. 8 in Japan”. To quote the older article:

Sales for Microsoft Corp.’s Xbox 360 hardware ranked sixth among hardware in the latest Japan retail numbers.

Media Create Co. on Fri. reported that the Xbox 360 sold 3,497 units between Nov. 29 and Dec. 5 to rank No. 6 in overall sales.

Microsoft lost billions of dollars on Xbox. It doesn’t like to talk about it.

“Analysts can’t agree on whether Microsoft has blown its lead or not” says this other article’s headline wherein “DFC Intelligence’s David Cole believes that Microsoft is blowing it by not having a diverse enough range of titles and mainly concentrating on the American styled shooters and action titles. While PS3 has a much broader range of titles which helps explain it’s utter dominance in Japan and fight back in Europe.”

“Microsoft admits that Blu-ray is not so bad” and “Microsoft Grudgingly Admits Blu-Rays are ”Pretty Cool, I Guess”” say some other articles, noting:

It has taken a year but Microsoft has totally reversed its anti-Blu-ray stance.

The problem is, Microsoft has no Blu-ray support, but hypocrisy and double standard prevail nonetheless. “Microsoft takes swipe at Mac for not supporting Blu-ray” says a headline from ZDNet, which is funny because Microsoft used to promote HDDVD, a competitor of Blu-ray. Apple did not really participate in this expensive battle at all. To Apple, the digital downloads distribution model seems sufficient and Apple is a big proponent of DRM.

On we move to KINect. Those who believe the $500,000,000 (estimate) marketing campaign may actually have fallen for the illusion of KINect ‘success’. “Pop Stars Move Kinect In Japan” as part of this expensive marketing blitz and Microsoft sells only 26,000 KINects there (it is a technologically-advanced country with over 100 million people). Sony says that Kinect is mostly a bunch of tech problems, based on a recent report, which adds: “If you believe Microsoft, the world is creaming its little yellow pants over how impressive Kinect is, but Sony doesn’t think it’s that hot. Writing off the technology for its mass of technical problems, Sony Computer Entertainment engineer Anton Mikhailov believes Move is a faster, sexier, less problematic solution.”

As OpenBytes quotes from Gamepur: “Microsoft Kinect is giving sleepless night to many of the Xbox 360 owners as its causing a many issue to them and the most notably issue is “Red Ring of Death”. [...] Many such complaints on the forum points to Kinect as the main culprit for RROD problem, however there isn’t any solid and concrete evidence to proof the same. Microsoft is yet to comment on this.”

The MSBBC published the Microsoft excuses: “Microsoft has denied any link between Kinect and the three flashing light error signal, known as the “red ring of death”.”

Thank you, MSBBC. Thanks for the reminder of who runs the BBC (hint: former Microsoft UK staff).

Here is another funny example of Microsoft failing to sell hardware peripherals for Xbox 360. To quote some headlines: “Microsoft: Nobody Bought Xbox 360 Faceplates”; “Microsoft Says Xbox 360 Faceplates Were A Failure, But Still Not A Bad Idea [Microsoft Recognizes Xbox 360 Faceplates Were A Failure, Something We All Knew In 2006]“; “Xbox 360 Faceplates Were a Failure, Says Microsoft”; “Microsoft says Xbox 360 faceplates were a failure”; “MS: ‘Nobody bought’ Xbox 360 faceplates”; “Shocker: Nobody Bought 360 Faceplates” and “Why no removable faceplates on 360 slim?”. Microsoft even admits the failure. It’s the admission which is rare, not the failure.

Microsoft says there is no plan to create a new Xbox, based on a very recent report:

With the presence of Kinect, many observers thought that Microsoft is also preparing the next generation Xbox 360. But it was firmly denied by the software giant.

Well, there is another business model cooking here. “California man goes to court for modifying Xbox 360″ says one headline, another says that this “Xbox modder could spend three years in prison”, but finally — courtesy of a Microsoft booster — “Judge in Xbox hacking case frags prosecution, case killed”. “The judge “unleashed a 30-minute tirade” against the prosecution, criticizing potentially illegal acts by prosecution witnesses and faulty instructions proposed for the jury,” says this report.

So Microsoft is just wasting its time and pissing customers off. What on Earth was it thinking? It’s a sign of bafflement and frustration, so no wonder so many Xbox managers quit the company in recent years.

On we move to the Zune, which is a product so ill on its deathbed that Microsoft pretends it’s just a companion to the Xbox/Live universe. This enables Microsoft to pretend this product is still alive, but as CNET put it, “Is Zune dying, or more important than ever?” Another new headline that’s posing a question rather than saying the truth quite bluntly is, “Microsoft Zune: A Unique Innovative Idea?”

It seems like a rhetorical question. Given that even Microsoft does not support the Zune, what can the answer be? Yes, that’s right, Microsoft is ignoring its own products and reporters notice:

Unusually, the company chose to use Amazon MP3 and not its own Zune Marketplace

More here:

Once you’ve qualified, Microsoft will send out the gift code to claim the track, and you’ll need an Amazon account to claim it by January 24th. The strange bit is that Microsoft chose to use Amazon MP3 instead of its own Zune Marketplace, but you can bet that folks aren’t going to complain (too much) over freebies.

As one last item of relevance (or irrelevance rather), remember the KIN? “Kin’s quiet return a rarity among failed gadgets” said CNET at one stage when there was chatter about KIN coming back as a “Zune phone” or something along those lines [1, 2, 3, 4]. It was probably misreported or merely an attempt to deplete remaining supplies because Kin services are officially dead, leaving KIN buyers with a dud in their pockets/hands:

The closure of Kin Studio — an online companion service by which Kin users can manage their phones, post to social networks, and host photos and video — will maroon a few thousand Kin users without key services.

“Microsoft Kin named one of CNN’s top 10 tech fails of 2010,” says a headline from Zunited. “Microsoft Nukes Kin Studio” says this headline, which slams the door shut on KIN’s coffin.

A Verizon Wireless document (JPGs) obtained by Windows Phone Central reveals that Microsoft will permanently close KIN Studio on January 31, 2011. For the 500 or so consumers who actually bought the “social” phone, this means the backbone OTA feature set will no longer be available. Instead, owners will be reduced to sending texts and making calls. Brilliant.

Does Microsoft have a future as a hardware company? Not a fat chance if this performance carries in.

Mac Asay [sic], who left Canonical to join a proprietary software company (Asay was previously close to taking a job at Microsoft), now says that the hypePad “is awesome” and denies that it is under threat from Linux. To Asay, Microsoft tablets which are an utter embarrassment should be considered the greater threat to Apple’s tablet. So why did he work for Canonical?

Share in other sites/networks: These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages.
  • Reddit
  • email

Decor ᶃ Gemini Space

Below is a Web proxy. We recommend getting a Gemini client/browser.

Black/white/grey bullet button This post is also available in Gemini over at this address (requires a Gemini client/browser to open).

Decor ✐ Cross-references

Black/white/grey bullet button Pages that cross-reference this one, if any exist, are listed below or will be listed below over time.

Decor ▢ Respond and Discuss

Black/white/grey bullet button If you liked this post, consider subscribing to the RSS feed or join us now at the IRC channels.

2 Comments

  1. twitter said,

    January 6, 2011 at 11:03 pm

    Gravatar

    I would say that Windows 7 is the biggest tech fail of 2010. Judging by people’s reactions and complaints, I was right to predict Windows 7 would follow Vista into oblivion because it inherits all of Vista’s design flaws. If it is true that Windows 7 sales have peaked, after a slower start than Vista, Windows 7 is an even bigger sales failure.

    According to the NPD Group, consumer electronic sales were down 10% last quarter from 2009 with computers particularly hard hit.

    notebook unit volume fell 9 percent with little to no discounting, as ASPs remained flat. Netbook unit volume declined 38 percent versus last holiday and accounted for 19 percent of Windows notebook sales, down from 27 percent during the prior year. Desktop sales also took a hit, dropping 16 percent in units.

    I would say that this is because Microsoft stuffed their brick and mortar stores with overpriced notebooks and netbooks running Windows 7. I bought three laptops for my family for Christmas, a EEE PC that came with GNU/Linux and two laptops that I scrubbed of Windows. Because of free software, I know they will all work well. The EEE PC is identical to two others I own that have run like champs for more than three years. The other two ran Debian without fuss and also have years of great service ahead of them. People who buy a computer with Windows 7 face lots of bugs and an uncertain future as well as a difficult to navigate GUI change. Microsoft and Microsoft boosters shot all of their credibility promoting Vista as their best and the most secure OS ever.

    twitter Reply:

    More evidence of Vista 7 failure is a price destroying glut of DRAM. DRAM makers made the same mistake when Vista failed to live up to Microsoft’s technical and sales promises. The Windows 7 sales spurt, if it was anything more than channel stuffing, is over.

DecorWhat Else is New


  1. Links 01/04/2023: Red Hat Turning 30

    Links for the day



  2. Links 31/03/2023: Mozilla Turns 25 and OpenMandriva 23.03

    Links for the day



  3. IRC Proceedings: Friday, March 31, 2023

    IRC logs for Friday, March 31, 2023



  4. Linus Tech (Illiteracy) Tips, LTT, Buys Phoronix Media

    Phoronix Media is being acquired by a larger company; the site will not change though



  5. Decided to Quit Debian and Use WSL Instead (Best of Both Worlds)

    Today starts a journey to a “better” experience, which lets Microsoft audit the kernel and leverage telemetry to improve my Debian experience



  6. Microsoft Has Laid Off Lennart Poettering and Hired Elon Musk

    Poettering gets rehired by IBM; IBM and Microsoft announce merger, putting Poettering back into his former position



  7. Links 31/03/2023: Ruby 3.2.2 and Linux Lite 6.4

    Links for the day



  8. Links 31/03/2023: Devices and Games, Mostly Leftovers

    Links for the day



  9. IRC Proceedings: Thursday, March 30, 2023

    IRC logs for Thursday, March 30, 2023



  10. Links 31/03/2023: Ubuntu 23.04 Beta, Donald Trump Indicted, and Finland’s NATO Bid Progresses

    Links for the day



  11. Translating the Lies of António Campinos (EPO)

    António Campinos has read a lousy script full of holes and some of the more notorious EPO talking points; we respond below



  12. [Meme] Too Many Fake European Patents? So Start Fake European Courts for Patents.

    António Campinos, who sent EPO money to Belarus, insists that the EPO is doing well; nothing could be further from the truth and EPO corruption is actively threatening the EU (or its legitimacy)



  13. Thomas Magenheim-Hörmann in RedaktionsNetzwerk Deutschland About Declining Quality and Declining Validity of European Patents (for EPO and Illegal Kangaroo Courts)

    Companies are not celebrating the “production line” culture fostered by EPO management, which is neither qualified for the job nor wants to adhere to the law (it's intentionally inflating a bubble)



  14. Links 30/03/2023: HowTos and Political News

    Links for the day



  15. Links 30/03/2023: LibreOffice 7.5.2 and Linux 6.2.9

    Links for the day



  16. Links 30/03/2023: WordPress 6.2 “Dolphy” and OpenMandriva ROME 23.03

    Links for the day



  17. Sirius is Britain’s Most Respected and Best Established Open Source Business, According to Sirius Itself, So Why Defraud the Staff?

    Following today's part about the crimes of Sirius ‘Open Source’ another video seemed to be well overdue (those installments used to be daily); the video above explains to relevance to Techrights and how workers feel about being cheated by a company that presents itself as “Open Source” even to some of the highest and most prestigious public institutions in the UK



  18. IRC Proceedings: Wednesday, March 29, 2023

    IRC logs for Wednesday, March 29, 2023



  19. [Meme] Waiting for Standard Life to Deal With Pension Fraud

    The crimes of Sirius ‘Open Source’ were concealed with the authoritative name of Standard Life, combined with official papers from Standard Life itself; why does Standard Life drag its heels when questioned about this matter since the start of this year?



  20. Former Staff of Sirius Open Source Responds to Revelations About the Company's Crimes

    Crimes committed by the company that I left months ago are coming to light; today we share some reactions from other former staff (without naming anybody)



  21. Among Users in the World's Largest Population, Microsoft is the 1%

    A sobering look at India shows that Microsoft lost control of the country (Windows slipped to 16% market share while GNU/Linux grew a lot; Bing is minuscule; Edge fell to 1.01% and now approaches “decimal point” territories)



  22. In One City Alone Microsoft Fired Almost 3,000 Workers This Year (We're Still in March)

    You can tell a company isn’t doing well when amid mass layoffs it pays endless money to the media — not to actual workers — in order for this media to go crazy over buzzwords, chaffbots, and other vapourware (as if the company is a market leader and has a future for shareholders to look forward to, even if claims are exaggerated and there’s no business model)



  23. Links 29/03/2023: InfluxDB FDW 2.0.0 and Erosion of Human Rights

    Links for the day



  24. Links 29/03/2023: Parted 3.5.28 and Blender 3.5

    Links for the day



  25. Links 29/03/2023: New Finnix and EasyOS Kirkstone 5.2

    Links for the day



  26. IRC Proceedings: Tuesday, March 28, 2023

    IRC logs for Tuesday, March 28, 2023



  27. [Meme] Fraud Seems Standard to Standard Life

    Sirius ‘Open Source’ has embezzled and defrauded staff; now it is being protected (delaying and stonewalling tactics) by those who helped facilitate the robbery



  28. 3 Months to Progress Pension Fraud Investigations in the United Kingdom

    Based on our experiences and findings, one simply cannot rely on pension providers to take fraud seriously (we’ve been working as a group on this); all they want is the money and risk does not seem to bother them, even when there’s an actual crime associated with pension-related activities



  29. 36,000 Soon

    Techrights is still growing; in WordPress alone (not the entire site) we’re fast approaching 36,000 posts; in Gemini it’s almost 45,500 pages and our IRC community turns 15 soon



  30. Contrary to What Bribed (by Microsoft) Media Keeps Saying, Bing is in a Freefall and Bing Staff is Being Laid Off (No, Chatbots Are Not Search and Do Not Substitute Web Pages!)

    Chatbots/chaffbot media noise (chaff) needs to be disregarded; Microsoft has no solid search strategy, just lots and lots of layoffs that never end this year (Microsoft distracts shareholders with chaffbot hype/vapourware each time a wave of layoffs starts, giving financial incentives for publishers to not even mention these; right now it’s GitHub again, with NDAs signed to hide that it is happening)


RSS 64x64RSS Feed: subscribe to the RSS feed for regular updates

Home iconSite Wiki: You can improve this site by helping the extension of the site's content

Home iconSite Home: Background about the site and some key features in the front page

Chat iconIRC Channel: Come and chat with us in real time

Recent Posts