From the article: they're constantly trying to play catch-up with others.
That hasn't changed. Microsoft has rarely been the first mover in a market. The difference nowadays is that consumers are becoming more educated. There was a time when an eight bit computer, a cruddy spreadsheet and a floppy drive compressed the tedium of an accountant from 38 hours per week to two hours per week. When that was the case, you could become part of a network effect or leverage an existing monopoly to sell bad knock-offs. It didn't matter if it crashed once per week because you'd still be four times more productive than doing the task manually.
Nowadays, expectations are higher, choices are wider and value lies elsewhere. Many people on this forum will remember when computer hardware and consumables were only available from specialist suppliers. That isn't the case anymore. Nor is it a de facto monopoly. Anyone in any major city can walk into a retailer and walk out with a computer that doesn't run Windows. Furthermore, anyone's nephew can install OpenOffice. People are now discovering that they can pay less and gain a productivity advantage. Having control of your data is a fringe benefit which they rarely consider.
Microsoft now has to work extremely hard and an increasing number are disatisfied. Unfortunately, too many consumers remain grateful for minimal productivity gains. Unfortunately, too many consumers take vendor shenanegans at face value. Fortunately, an increasing number of consumers have become wary of encumbants with a long history of market abuse.
That hasn't changed. Microsoft has rarely been the first mover in a market. The difference nowadays is that consumers are becoming more educated. There was a time when an eight bit computer, a cruddy spreadsheet and a floppy drive compressed the tedium of an accountant from 38 hours per week to two hours per week. When that was the case, you could become part of a network effect or leverage an existing monopoly to sell bad knock-offs. It didn't matter if it crashed once per week because you'd still be four times more productive than doing the task manually.
Nowadays, expectations are higher, choices are wider and value lies elsewhere. Many people on this forum will remember when computer hardware and consumables were only available from specialist suppliers. That isn't the case anymore. Nor is it a de facto monopoly. Anyone in any major city can walk into a retailer and walk out with a computer that doesn't run Windows. Furthermore, anyone's nephew can install OpenOffice. People are now discovering that they can pay less and gain a productivity advantage. Having control of your data is a fringe benefit which they rarely consider.
Microsoft now has to work extremely hard and an increasing number are disatisfied. Unfortunately, too many consumers remain grateful for minimal productivity gains. Unfortunately, too many consumers take vendor shenanegans at face value. Fortunately, an increasing number of consumers have become wary of encumbants with a long history of market abuse.