Business Down for Some Large OEMs Despite Vista 7
- Dr. Roy Schestowitz
- 2010-02-19 19:21:52 UTC
- Modified: 2010-02-19 19:21:52 UTC
Summary: Dell suffers a drop in profits despite the glamorous hype and promises from Microsoft (upon releasing Vista 7)
Microsoft's financial decline carries on [1, 2, 3, 4] as Vista 7 fails to take a recessional rebound. There are numbers that Microsoft does not want the public to see, Acer says that Windows sales were flat despite Vista 7, and a couple of weeks ago, right after Microsoft's latest results that are dubious (Microsoft has debt), the Wall Street Journal published a report to say that business was stagnant or down for OEMs/computer makers despite the release of Vista 7.
Our reader Chips B. Malroy told us last night that
there is more new evidence that Vista 7 could not have sold much. "The Dell article," he explains, "shows that people are buying cheaper computers now. That cannot be good for MS. At some point the OEM pain of companies like Dell, will start finding ways to cut the MS profit."
Dell profit drops despite Windows 7 PC rush
[...]
Its gross margin dropped to a relatively slim 16.6 percent as the holiday-related sales spike pushed it to sell 2 million more computers without as much profit as in the past.
It's all about margins and
it's the fault of GNU/Linux. According to
another new report, Microsoft is overcharging (£30 price hike):
Microsoft got its sums wrong on the price tag for the boxed version of Office Professional 2010, forcing it to hike the product by £30.
This is classic Microsoft. Time to
"whack" Dell again?
⬆
"Bill [Gates] would go to a very senior person at these other OEMs whether it was DEC or Tandy or Compaq or whoever and yell at them or tell them it had to be this way, or if you don't do this we'll make sure our software doesn't run on your box. What do you do if you're one of these OEM guys? You're screwed. You can't have Microsoft not support your hardware so you better do what they say."
--McGregor, Bill Gates' colleague
Comments
Danielh
2010-02-20 20:54:16
If ARM becomes the next big thing, Microsoft is toast.
Jump onto ARM and their current duopoly with Intel is broken and Intel can start engaging in Linux for real.
Porting Windows 7 to ARM is extremely hard and Microsoft is the last place on earth i would imagine pulling something like that off. Winmo 7 is still left to be seen IRL and when it hits the streets, Android and Apple is miles ahead.
Microsoft cant follow, all it can do is try to stop things from happening. They succeded in stopping Java, could services and Linux for some time but they can keep plugging all those hole in the dam forever. Sooner or later they run out of fingers.
Roy Schestowitz
2010-02-20 21:39:22
NotZed
2010-02-19 22:01:31
Yes, I think this is the point. A cheap computer is now far-and-ahead of what you could ever get for 4x that price even a few years ago, and there's no longer any reason to keep upgrading them, until they wear out.
Even my 6 year old laptop is still sufficient to comfortably run most applications - and I imagine it still will be until it breaks down (which being an ibm thinkpad with a warrantee replaced mobo & keyboard could be some time).
Maybe we're finally starting to see the inevitable collapse of a business model based on selling obsolete hardware that needs to be re-bought every few years? I'd be a bit worried if I were a DELL or Intel.
Roy Schestowitz
2010-02-19 22:28:14
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=67j7JlEZzpQ http://www.ted.com/talks/edward_burtynsky_on_manufactured_landscapes.html
your_friend
2010-02-20 04:47:58
Robotron 2084
2010-02-20 19:44:56
I'm calling your bluff on this one. You'll claim Windows will be slow and unstable on ANY system. I used a 1 Ghz P3 with 768 megs for nearly 4 years on a single install of Windows XP. It ran great. Quake 3, Day of Defeat, and Grand Theft Auto San Andreas were my favorite games on that rig. When I retired this machine I used it to replace my aging Windows 2000 file server. Regrettably, I could not bright this machine with me when I went overseas.
Yuhong Bao
2010-02-20 20:02:00
Agent_Smith
2010-02-20 01:48:34
Roy Schestowitz
2010-02-20 01:59:44
NotZed
2010-02-20 03:31:19
(phones e.g. have an average of ~2 cores per phone too)
Agent_Smith
2010-02-20 02:06:54
Roy Schestowitz
2010-02-20 02:44:22
Also see:
Robotron 2084
2010-02-20 19:59:14
Agent_Smith
2010-02-20 21:06:35
Roy Schestowitz
2010-02-20 21:36:59