Microsoft dying? Don't bet on it

[Archean]

That is an interesting take on Microsoft's current situation. I tend to agree with many of the points raised in this article. However, I think people who are predicting demise of Microsoft do miss one thing, i.e. How much 'muscle' the competition actually have in the longer run to bring down Microsoft, e.g. if Microsoft commit/invest enough resources and continue to bring new innovative ideas to its search engine (which is doing pretty good for a new player in just about a year's time) it can put Google into hard spot, because despite google too being a software company, its revenue sources are not as 'diverse' when compared to Microsoft's. Anyway, its an interesting debate.

 

[Leeky]

That was an interesting article.

The income certainly speaks for itself, $50 billion plus even in bad economic conditions is something that seriously opens eyes.

What I'd like to see however is how much is being spent throughout Microsoft Corp. If they're spending as much overall as they are earning, then yes there could be a problem. I strongly suspect however, that Microsoft are not spending $50 billion a year!

 

[Archean]

Exactly the point, I remember they had lot more significant cash reserves but they spent them on buying back their shares.

Anyway, if I were Google, I'd be more fearful today than say 3 years ago, because I believe with right mix of features / qualitative search product, you can hit them where it hurts most, because they are more of a one product company at this moment, to their credit, they are trying to change that by entering various other markets.

 

[EXCellR8]

MS is going to be around for a long, long time... but i can see Google being bought out eventually.

 

[Archean]

I dont know about that Excel, but I think if MS could / or does get its act together, I don't see Google remaining the 'search engine of choice' by 'default' for everyone. It hasn't been mine anyway for a year now

 

[EXCellR8]

I still use Google as my default search engine, and I've really only used Bing a couple of times. Maybe I'm just a creature of habit and I don't want to switch, but I also have a couple Gmail accounts and all of my bookmarked stuff controlled by iGoogle anyways. If you're looking at the debate from a software perspective it's almost laughable to compare the two companies. That's the only reason I say that MS will outlast Google as a software company.

 

[Archean]

I understand where you are coming from, but 'generally change' has always being much easier for me. Beside, its fun