STRATEGIC NEWS SERVICE®

 

 

18 Years Providing Weekly Foresight

 

The most accurate predictive letter in computing and telecommunications,
read by industry leaders worldwide.

 

 

 

In This Issue     Feature: When Windows Tanks   Why Microsoft Is Right, and Why Windows 8 Is Wrong Bill's Strategy at the Old Microsoft Are PCs Dying? What Happens to Microsoft? What Happens to the Industry? From a Higher Vantage Point   Quotes of the Week   Upgrades   "Google Now" Takes On Siri Intel's New Leaders   Takeout Window   Desktop OS Marketing Share Microsoft Stock Performance "Google Now" Comes to the iPhone and iPad: Look Out, Siri The Microsoft Surface RT Rupert's Intellectual Damage   Ethermail   In Case You Missed It... Members Making News   Upcoming SNS Events   & Media Links   In Other House News...   New Members' Welcome How to Subscribe May I Share This Newsletter? About SNS About the Publisher Where's Mark?

 [Please open the .pdf attachment for best viewing.]

 ___

 

 

Join Oracle president Mark Hurd and hear his Conversation Centerpiece discussion with Mark Anderson on the future of the cloud, big data, realtime analytics, and exactly how the world will compute over the next three to five years:

 

www.futureinreview.com

 

 

 

 

 

When Windows Tanks

 

I recently found myself asking fellow panelists at an MIT Forum what would happen if Windows 8 just didn't take off. There was a conversational pause, so I asked again. No takers. Perhaps it was because we were in Seattle, but no one wanted to talk about the elephant in the room.

 

It's quite likely that Windows 8 will be a bomb. If no one buys it, then what? What will happen to Microsoft, and what will happen to the rest of the computer industry?

 

This seems to me to be a critical strategic issue facing everyone involved. While there are currently online arguments about the level of sales, and why they are falling short, I haven't seen the larger, much more important question raised regarding what happens if the whole thing just tanks.

 

Recognizing that we have many members from Microsoft, from the Northwest, and from the computer industry, I should make sure to add a few caveats right at the top of this discussion.