Bonum Certa Men Certa

The Slime About ARM and Android

Paint bucket



Summary: A compilation of new factors that stifle adoption of Linux on the low end

MICROSOFT is losing money because of sub-notebooks that run GNU/Linux [1, 2, 3, 4, 5], so Microsoft trying to just eliminate them altogether. When it comes to sub-notebooks, Microsoft is hoping to embrace (through dumping and maybe kickbacks), extend, and extinguish them for good.



“When it comes to sub-notebooks, Microsoft is hoping to embrace (through dumping and maybe kickbacks), extend, and extinguish them for good.”This devious plan would not quite work because of ARM-based sub-notebooks, but Microsoft is working on attacking them too. Spin is a major component of this; some weeks ago they tried to spin the lack of Windows for ARM as a loss for ARM rather than a loss for Microsoft and Scientes now warns that "Slashdot spins ARM CEO's Warren East statement." What is going on?

According to Mary Jo Foley, Microsoft is still trying to replace sub-notebooks with more expensive computers where Windows is no longer given away almost for free. This is not news because about a month ago Microsoft tried using terms like "Smartbooks" (as opposes to small notebooks) to pretend that naming alone would resolve pricing issues; it's like trying to make "Windows" and "PC" synonymous.

Ballmer, unlike some Microsoft execs, wasn’t afraid to say the word “netbook.” In fact, he told FAM attendees that netbooks are synonymous with MIDs (Mobile Internet Devices).

Ballmer disputed the notion that netbooks are killing Microsoft’s Windows client revenue base. He showed a slide he admitted the rest of his team had warned him was overly complex (and I have to say I agree) to try to show why netbooks aren’t going to keep chipping away at Windows’ margins.


In this morning's news digest, we gave many new examples of Android wins. There are some funny things happening at Acer and suspicions arise with regard to cause and impact.

Android logoWe’ve reported about Android netbooks for a while, and made it clear we’re not sure if anyone really wants one. Acer first announced it would produce what would likely be the first Android netbook, then explained it really meant it would dual-boot with Windows.


It is abundantly clear that Microsoft is afraid of Android because it is superior to everything Microsoft has at the moment. Business Insider published the following yesterday:"Microsoft Admits Its Phones Are Crappy, Vows To Improve (MSFT)"

No more blind cheerleading from Redmond: Microsoft (MSFT) finally admitted that its mobile business needs some work.

At Microsoft's analyst day in Seattle, Robbie Bach confessed in his finest business school jargon that the company hasn't "done as good a job as I would like building relationships and getting the right integration with our hardware partners," according to the WSJ, and vowed to improve: "You’re going to see dramatic improvement in integration."

He added, "You’ll see our execution rhythm pick up and the quality of our execution improve."


A new essay at GigaOm opines or at least puts forth the possibility that " Google’s Android [is] Killing Windows Mobile"

I wonder if it will be too late for the company to make a comeback, similar to Zune struggling to playsanjay catch-up with the iPod. So while there is a lot of focus on Apple v Google, the real battle is actually between Microsoft Windows Mobile and Google Android. It looks like Google has drawn its first blood.


Android, Chrome OS, and other implementations of GNU/Linux for the low end are causing major headaches to Microsoft. Some other products like the BlackBerry and iPhone are proving to be a challenge too, so either way, it is worth keeping an eye on Microsoft's response. In Russia, Microsoft and OEMs are already under investigation for anti-compeitive conduct (against GNU/Linux).

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