I'm old enough to remember when Microsoft was almost (*almost*) cool. Dos 6.1.1. was useful, Filght Simulator was one of the best games out there, and Excel on a Mac (and only a Mac) beat the stuffing out of 1-2-3.

Then with Windows 95 ("Hey, it's Mac 1984!"), and the sudden shift to Internet Explorer, Windows 98,("With our exclusive Seive(tm) Virus Protection!"), the horror that was Bob/ME and now Google, they've always seemed to be 1 step behind what the market was doing, but were able to make up for it with a brute-force approached that leveraged their marketshare and cash reserves.

But how long can that last? Constantly playing catchup works until you start to falter and there is no Plan B.  Microsoft reminds me of a fencer who's stronger, but a tad slower for his opponent. Sure, you'll parry most of the blows easily, and make better attacks. But there's always that one riposte that you just aren't fast enough to parry, and then the match is over.

This entry was posted by Kevin Creighton, on 11.09.2005. You can leave your response.