Today, HP announced that it will begin loading its PCs with its own webOS sometime next year. The Motorola Atrix 4G is a smartphone capable of docking and becoming an Android laptop. Windows Phone 7 is losing momentum. These are only the first trickles from the Windows dam, but it is cracking. Windows has ruled the PC world for more than 20 years, but times may be changing. Here are five reasons why the Windows PC empire may be ready to burst.
PCs are no longer dominant
For the last thirty years, personal computers have been the heart of the computing experience. For a long time there was nothing else, and when connected gadgets started popping up, they all needed a PC to sync with and show them love. This is changing. While there are still plenty of devices that require a PC, the list is shrinking fast. A whole host of digital devices have begun becoming Internet aware without the PC. When’s the last time you needed to connect your Kindle to a computer? How about your smart TV? Manufacturers are finding ways to further untether their products every day. PCs are becoming a single unit in a large, networked, connected system of Internet-capable devices like tablets, smartphones, and smart TVs.
The smartphone and tablet are the two biggest examples of this trend. In many ways, they are becoming more important than PCs, because they are on your person at all times. As we have continued to demand more out of smartphones, their app ecosystems have soared to unprecedented levels, offering hundreds of thousands of apps in one easy-to-find place.
The iPhone spawned a new breed of competitive, capable OSs
The iPhone hit shelves a little less than four years ago and it has bred change. Apple redefined the mobile computing experience with a full touch experience that let users easily browse the Web and perform a multitude of tasks that just weren’t as simple before it came out. When it launched the App Store, the iPhone solidified its place at the top of the smartphone heap. Since then, Apple has continually added new capabilities to its bottom-up OS, which was based on some core ideas from Mac OS X.
It took two years for Android, iOS’s first viable competitor, to spring up, but it has grown astronomically (888 percent) in the last year and a half. Tablets and touch devices of all sizes have sprung from Android. It and iOS have collectively kicked the rest of the industry into high gear. RIM has shown off a new BlackBerry Tablet OS based on new architecture, while HP has continued to refine and expand the role of its own webOS. Nokia is set to release MeeGo, it’s own custom new-generation OS, and even Microsoft released a completely redesigned OS called Windows Phone 7. This is likely only the start. Unlike the PC industry for most of my life, the smartphone and tablet industries have bred real, capable, competitive operating systems that are proving to be more useful than many of us ever thought they would be.
Windows 7: Unfriendly to touch
Unfortunately, Windows is not a part of this growing smartphone ecosystem. While Microsoft continues to tinker and perfect Windows 7, it is largely the same operating system as it was when it was first released as Windows 95. The graphics have improved dramatically, as has its functionality, but there is little innovation coming out of Redmond in the PC realm.
For the longest time, its familiarity was one of Windows’ strongest traits, but the tide of the market has turned against it. As touch-based tablets continue to rise in popularity, users and manufacturers are demanding new types of touch interaction on all their devices, and Windows 7 just isn’t up to the task. Microsoft tried to popularize tablet PCs a decade ago, but it hasn’t spent much time optimizing its OS for them. Windows 7 remains an unintuitive, clunky mess on touch devices. There are a host of relatively simple modifications that could improve the experience, but Microsoft doesn’t seem to be making them.
Microsoft split its platform with Windows Phone 7
Worse, the company is sending mixed messages at a time when the market doesn’t know what to do. Windows Phone 7 is supposed to be Microsoft’s answer to modern touch interfaces. It was developed by Microsoft’s underrated Zune team from the ground up, and has a unique and imaginative new interface, but Microsoft is holding it back. We have yet to see a Windows Phone 7 tablet or any new WP7 devices since its launch in November. Instead, at CES and since, Microsoft has been touting Windows 7 as the platform for touch PCs, tablets, and devices of all kinds. While CEO Steve Ballmer says MS is behind WP7 on one hand, his actions are undermining it on the other. WP7 is a beautiful OS that could run tablets and other devices wonderfully. It would be nice if Microsoft would tap its full potential instead of trying to shove Windows 7 into most touch devices.
Really, it’s all Apple
Call it a comeback or call it a long-standing diabolical plot by Steve Jobs to eventually destroy Microsoft and take back the computer throne by reinventing computers themselves, but like it did in the late 1970s to mid 1980s, Apple has completely changed the game. Unlike Microsoft, which has long been content to sit on its pile of money, Apple has been on a quest to change computing for the better. It began with the iPod a decade ago, which bred the iPhone, which gave way to the iPad last year. Apple is completely leading the consumer electronics world right now, from a sales and mental standpoint. Though HP was the first to announce that it is bringing its webOS to the desktop, Apple even foreshadowed that idea, as it began bringing some of the lessons its learned from the iPhone and iPad back to the Mac. The Mac App Store is the first small example of iOS infiltrating Apple PCs, but a big change is coming to Macs as well.
Get moving, Microsoft
The world is shifting under Microsoft’s feet. In just a year, its dominant Windows 7 OS has gone from looking like a mammoth success to appearing as yesterday’s news. Sales don’t reflect it yet, but if Microsoft wants to hold onto its place in the market, Steve Ballmer may want to re-read the departing memo of Ray Ozzie, his former chief software architect. In it, he talked about how complexity kills, and the ever connected future ahead of us. He foresaw a post-PC world and explained what Microsoft will have to do to stay relevant. Unfortunately, we don’t yet know if the company is heeding his wisdom. Hopefully, a connected, forward-thinking Microsoft is still ahead of us.
Testing to see if this blog is still taking comments (my proper posting was rejected)….
The headline is Five reasons why the sun is setting on windows dominance. I’d like to check whether the article really says anything related to this headline. Let’s take this one at a time:
1. PCs are no longer dominant. This section seems to mean by PC any computing device that sits on a desk, since it goes on to point out that other device types like smartphones, tablets, and smart TV’s have been developed which not only take the emphasis away from the PC (the thing sitting on the desk), but further no longer require connection to that PC. Windows is not mentioned anywhere in this section, so presumably the same assessment of dilution of computing devices away from desktop devices also applies to Apple desktops and laptops – which it does if you think about it.
2. The iPhone spawned a new breed of competitive, capable OSs. This is true. And its not just Apple OSs. Microsoft have developed the Windows Phone. Sure, some might comment here about the small market share that Windows Phone has at this point in time – but it is there nevertheless, and is growing.
3. Windows 7: Unfriendly to touch. How come were not mentioning Windows 8 here? Come to think of it, how come were not mentioning here that Apple desktops & laptops are also not touch friendly? This section doesnt seem to say anything, other than that current desktop & laptop solutions from any vendor are not particularly touch friendly yet – Apple included.
4. Microsoft split its platform with Windows Phone 7. I’m confused by ths section. Apparently (in the mind of the author) all of this Windows Phone stuff is sending mixed messages when the market doesn’t know what to do. Er, why is that again? Let’s see: there’s something about a connection with Zune – don’t know what that’s got to do with anything, The author provides positive comments for Windows Phone: has a unique and imaginative new interface (sounds good); is a beautiful OS that could run tablets and other devices wonderfully (sounds good); It would be nice if Microsoft would tap its full potential instead of trying to shove Windows 7 into most touch devices (I guess that’s why they’ve been busy developing Windows 8 all this time!)
5. Really, its all Apple. Ok, I think I get it now. Apparently Apple is the only (pun half intended) device in the author’s eye. Hang on, though: the article also mentioned all that stuff about the astronomical growth of Android; and the beautiful OS of Windows Phone. So how come “its all Apple”?
Finally: Get moving, Microsoft. They have. The author has even mentioned a couple of the important things that Microsoft has been moving (and very well) on – Windows Phone, with its unique and imaginative new interface, and its beautiful OS that could run tablets and other devices wonderfully. All sounds good to me.
Now, to be fair, I’ve just noticed that this blog was posted on February 10, 2011. That would explain the lack of commentary about Windows 8. But there’s plenty of other material as pointed out above to show that Windows is far from the setting sun. And now we know, with Windows 8 just around the corner, that Microsoft has been far from sitting on its hands, and has not only come up with a touch-friendly OS, but more importantly an all-encompassing and unfragmented devices ecosystem.
Now it looks like Apple is going to be the one that will be behind the 8 ball (pun half intended) by not having a touch friendly OS that works as a compatible and unfragmented ecosystem across all of its device types. I guess, by this author’s definition, that would make Apple unfriendly to touch, and with a split platform that sends mixed messages to the market.
Very importantly, the comments of other respondents here need to be given serious consideration: the corporate world operates in a Windows-dominated sphere. Apple is doing almost nothing to provide the corporate sector and datacenters with the hardware and sofware that it needs for its infrastructure. Apple may have some chance of turning this around to some degree at the level of the desktops, laptops, tablets, and smartphones – but is long past the setting sun in turning anything around at the server level.
Corporate IT is renowned for being loath to mix its systems. Corporate IT departments will want to keep deploying Windows devices to end users. The greater degree of control, security, and support level that they can exercise naturally leans them this way – not to mention the importance of Active Directory in a large networked environment. The new phenomenon of BYOD – where users bring their own device to the work arena – certainly presents challenges, change (and headaches) to corporate IT departments; but this is all the more reason why corporate IT will be keen to see Microsoft enter the tablet and smartphone market with devices that not only present a serious challenge to Apple devices, but more importantly are all the easier to integrate with current corporate IT infrastructures and practices.
Remember, the headline is “Five reasons why the sun is setting on windows dominance”. I’d like to check whether the article really says anything related to this headline. Let’s take this one at a time:
1. “PC’s are no longer dominant”. This section seems to mean by “PC” any computing device that sits on a desk, since it goes on to point out that other device types like smartphones, tablets, and smart TV’s have been developed which not only take the emphasis away from the PC (the thing sitting on the desk), but further no longer require connection to that PC. Windows is not mentioned anywhere in this section, so presumably the same assessment of dilution of computing devices away from desktop devices also applies to Apple desktops and laptops – which it does if you think about it.
2. “The iPhone spawned a new breed of competitive, capable OSs”. This is true. And it’s not just Apple OS’s. Microsoft have developed the Windows Phone. Sure, some might comment here about the small market share that Windows Phone has at this point in time – but it is there nevertheless, and is growing.
3. “Windows 7: Unfriendly to touch”. How come we’re not mentioning Windows 8 here? Come to think of it, how come we’re not mentioning here that Apple desktops & laptops are also not touch friendly? This section doesn’t seem to say anything, other than that current desktop & laptop solutions from any vendor are not particularly touch friendly yet – Apple included.
4. “Microsoft split its platform with Windows Phone 7″. I’m confused by ths section. Apparently (in the mind of the author) all of this Windows Phone stuff is “sending mixed messages when the market doesn’t know what to do”. Er, why is that again? Let’s see: there’s something about a connection with Zune – don’t know what that’s got to do with anything, The author provides positive comments for Windows Phone: “has a unique and imaginative new interface” (sounds good); “is a beautiful OS that could run tablets and other devices wonderfully” (sounds good); “It would be nice if Microsoft would tap its full potential instead of trying to shove Windows 7 into most touch devices” (I guess that’s why they’ve been busy developing Windows 8 all this time!)
5. Really, it’s all Apple. Ok, I think I get it now. Apparently Apple is the only (pun half intended) device in the author’s eye. Hang on, though: the article also mentioned all that stuff about the astronomical growth of Android; and the beautiful OS of Windows Phone. So how come “it’s all Apple”?
Finally: “Get moving, Microsoft”. They have. The author has even mentioned a couple of the important things that Microsoft has been moving (and very well) on – Windows Phone, with its “unique and imaginative new interface”, and its “beautiful OS that could run tablets and other devices wonderfully”. All sounds good to me.
Now, to be fair, I’ve just noticed that this blog was posted on February 10, 2011. That would explain the lack of commentary about Windows 8. But there’s plenty of other material as pointed out above to show that Windows is far from the setting sun. And now we know, with Windows 8 just around the corner, that Microsoft has been far from sitting on its hands, and has not only come up with a touch-friendly OS, but more importantly an all-encompassing and unfragmented devices ecosystem.
Now it looks like Apple is going to be the one that will be behind the 8 ball (pun half intended) by not having a touch friendly OS that works as a compatible and unfragmented ecosystem across all of its device types. I guess, by this author’s definition, that would make Apple “unfriendly to touch”, and with a “split platform” that sends “mixed messages” to the market.
Very importantly, the comments of other respondents here need to be given serious consideration: the corporate world operates in a Windows-dominated sphere. Apple is doing almost nothing to provide the corporate sector and datacenters with the hardware and sofware that it needs for its infrastructure. Apple may have some chance of turning this around to some degree at the level of the desktops, laptops, tablets, and smartphones – but is long past the setting sun in turning anything around at the server level.
Corporate IT is renowned for being loath to mix its systems. Corporate IT departments will want to keep deploying Windows devices to end users. The greater degree of control, security, and support level that they can exercise naturally leans them this way – not to mention the importance of Active Directory in a large networked environment. The new phenomenon of BYOD – where users bring their own device to the work arena – certainly presents challenges, change (and headaches) to corporate IT departments; but this is all the more reason why corporate IT will be keen to see Microsoft enter the tablet and smartphone market with devices that not only present a serious challenge to Apple devices, but more importantly are all the easier to integrate with current corporate IT infrastructures and practices.
If everything Apple makes evaporated overnight, the world would have fewer toys, but everyone would wake-up in the morning and still go to work.. Apple makes toys, Microsoft makes tools: always been that way, and it appears it always will.
I must say, there is quite a bit of fanboyism in this article. I do agree that the iPhone has changed computers (whether mobile or not) significantly, as much as I hate to admit it, but the decline of Desktop has not necessarily been in Apple's favor either. Their market for desktops has largely been the same for a number of years, and I don't see this "back to the mac" campaign bringing them any closer to dominance in that arena.
I love my desktop PC, but much like arcades died to home consoles and home consoles are dying to handhelds and handhelds are dying to mobile phones, the portable market is where everything is going. I don't think it will ever get to the point where a computer is embedded into your body, but when the hardware is ready for it, I do see wearable computers being eventually where everything goes. Right now, the biggest thing holding Windows together is legacy software. Games, office suites, server infrastructure.
OnLive may very well be the greatest metaphor to where everything will eventually end up. Gladly, the world isn't ready for it yet, and I hope that I'll always be able to have a local copy of my information on me, but that may not be the case.
The headline is “Five reasons why the sun is setting on windows dominance”. I’d like to check whether the article really says anything related to this headline. Let’s take this one at a time:
1. “PC’s are no longer dominant”. This section seems to mean by “PC” any computing device that sits on a desk, since it goes on to point out that other device types like smartphones, tablets, and smart TV’s have been developed which not only take the emphasis away from the PC (the thing sitting on the desk), but further no longer require connection to that PC. Windows is not mentioned anywhere in this section, so presumably the same assessment of dilution of computing devices away from desktop devices also applies to Apple desktops and laptops – which it does if you think about it.
2. “The iPhone spawned a new breed of competitive, capable OSs”. This is true. And it’s not just Apple OS’s. Microsoft have developed the Windows Phone. Sure, some might comment here about the small market share that Windows Phone has at this point in time – but it is there nevertheless, and is growing.
3. “Windows 7: Unfriendly to touch”. How come we’re not mentioning Windows 8 here? Come to think of it, how come we’re not mentioning here that Apple desktops & laptops are also not touch friendly? This section doesn’t seem to say anything, other than that current desktop & laptop solutions from any vendor are not particularly touch friendly yet – Apple included.
4. “Microsoft split its platform with Windows Phone 7″. I’m confused by ths section. Apparently (in the mind of the author) all of this Windows Phone stuff is “sending mixed messages when the market doesn’t know what to do”. Er, why is that again? Let’s see: there’s something about a connection with Zune – don’t know what that’s got to do with anything, The author provides positive comments for Windows Phone: “has a unique and imaginative new interface” (sounds good); “is a beautiful OS that could run tablets and other devices wonderfully” (sounds good); “It would be nice if Microsoft would tap its full potential instead of trying to shove Windows 7 into most touch devices” (I guess that’s why they’ve been busy developing Windows 8 all this time!)
5. Really, it’s all Apple. Ok, I think I get it now. Apparently Apple is the only (pun half intended) device in the author’s eye. Hang on, though: the article also mentioned all that stuff about the astronomical growth of Android; and the beautiful OS of Windows Phone. So how come “it’s all Apple”?
Finally: “Get moving, Microsoft”. They have. The author has even mentioned a couple of the important things that Microsoft has been moving (and very well) on – Windows Phone, with its “unique and imaginative new interface”, and its “beautiful OS that could run tablets and other devices wonderfully”. All sounds good to me.
Now, to be fair, I’ve just noticed that this blog was posted on February 10, 2011. That would explain the lack of commentary about Windows 8. But there’s plenty of other material as pointed out above to show that Windows is far from the setting sun. And now we know, with Windows 8 just around the corner, that Microsoft has been far from sitting on its hands, and has not only come up with a touch-friendly OS, but more importantly an all-encompassing and unfragmented devices ecosystem.
Now it looks like Apple is going to be the one that will be behind the 8 ball (pun half intended) by not having a touch friendly OS that works as a compatible and unfragmented ecosystem across all of its device types. I guess, by this author’s definition, that would make Apple “unfriendly to touch”, and with a “split platform” that sends “mixed messages” to the market.
Very importantly, the comments of other respondents here need to be given serious consideration: the corporate world operates in a Windows-dominated sphere. Apple is doing almost nothing to provide the corporate sector and datacenters with the hardware and sofware that it needs for its infrastructure. Apple may have some chance of turning this around to some degree at the level of the desktops, laptops, tablets, and smartphones – but is long past the setting sun in turning anything around at the server level.
Corporate IT is renowned for being loath to mix its systems. Corporate IT departments will want to keep deploying Windows devices to end users. The greater degree of control, security, and support level that they can exercise naturally leans them this way – not to mention the importance of Active Directory in a large networked environment. The new phenomenon of BYOD – where users bring their own device to the work arena – certainly presents challenges, change (and headaches) to corporate IT departments; but this is all the more reason why corporate IT will be keen to see Microsoft enter the tablet and smartphone market with devices that not only present a serious challenge to Apple devices, but more importantly are all the easier to integrate with current corporate IT infrastructures and practices.
LOL @ this article. I'm not even going to bother.
Our company is retiring 11 year old hardware used to monitor smog by computer. OS? Windows NT. Hardware? Desktops, each one. NT keeps going; the hardware is dying. New OS? Windows 2008. Hardware? Desktops. This data is required by law, both federal and state. The old hardware ran 24/7/365 since late 1998. Can’t do that with a laptop or portable computer. Apple? They got out of the business of seriously good computer hardware and software by their own choice early in the game. The computers being lauded as the latest and greatest could be nothing more than terminals.
Off course, we use some serious hardware. RAID, triple-redundant power supplies, fail-over clusters, etc. It was interesting when one of our customers had a disk fail; he expected us to show up with CDs and such to reload everything. All we had to do is unplug the offending disk (while the system was still running and collecting data), plug in a new one, and watch it rebuild as the system continued to collect data. Believe me, with such performance Microsoft has nothing to worry about save the press from those who want mainframe performance from a handheld device. Phones? Yeah, right.
think this article is accurate on a consumer level but when you expand into the corporate world, MSFT is as strong as ever.
Microsoft is leading the charge with Office 365, Dynamics CRM 2011 and other Cloud-based services, all items that are going to revolutionize how many companies do business. Perhaps it would be beneficial for MSFT to move away from markets it can’t get into (mobile phones, tablets, etc.) and focus more on redefining the world of servers and virtualization.
MSFT (as we all know) is a company that takes a concept and simply improves on it. Microsoft was DOS, then we saw Apple’s OS and BAM, Windows was born. The Wii gave us “motion play” that we could actually use, the Kinnect made it completely hands free. The mobile/tablet market is something that Apple is going to continue to lead the charge in and even companies like Google and RIM aren’t quite up to par with Apple because Apple has made it almost impossible to improve on. EVen the big items that can be improved on (i.e. multitasking) doesn’t get addressed – Microsoft should have sold the Windows 7 phone via the platform.
Testing to see if this blog is still taking comments (my earlier comment was rejected)…
The headline is “Five reasons why the sun is setting on windows dominance”. I’d like to check whether the article really says anything related to this headline. Let’s take this one at a time:
1. “PC’s are no longer dominant”. This section seems to mean by “PC” any computing device that sits on a desk, since it goes on to point out that other device types like smartphones, tablets, and smart TV’s have been developed which not only take the emphasis away from the PC (the thing sitting on the desk), but further no longer require connection to that PC. Windows is not mentioned anywhere in this section, so presumably the same assessment of dilution of computing devices away from desktop devices also applies to Apple desktops and laptops – which it does if you think about it.
2. “The iPhone spawned a new breed of competitive, capable OSs”. This is true. And it’s not just Apple OS’s. Microsoft have developed the Windows Phone. Sure, some might comment here about the small market share that Windows Phone has at this point in time – but it is there nevertheless, and is growing.
3. “Windows 7: Unfriendly to touch”. How come we’re not mentioning Windows 8 here? Come to think of it, how come we’re not mentioning here that Apple desktops & laptops are also not touch friendly? This section doesn’t seem to say anything, other than that current desktop & laptop solutions from any vendor are not particularly touch friendly yet – Apple included.
(more in next post)
I disagree. Apple is not as intuitive to work with as some believe. In fact I find it very frustrating to work with at times.I bought an IMAC last year and that would pretty much be the last time I buy an expensive toy. Granted the IMAC is much faster and has great graphics but PC’s running on Windows 7 are just as good and much cheaper.
The problem I have with articles like this is that while Apple has done a good job with tablets and phones, the author overlooks things such as the multi-billion dollar gaming industry. Face it, hard core gamers won't give up their PC Windows rigs for an Apple device. Many of us have multiple monitors and quad core over clocked processors running Windows. We play Crysis and Rainbow Six, etc. I like Apple products just fine, but these articles make it seem as if nothing else matters.
When people speak of Cloud, I assure you that most if not all of those servers are not running OSX. They run Linux and Windows. Imagine what would happen if Windows vanished tomorrow. Mobile devices have their place, however they won't unseat Windows or the Mac OS for that matter.
Android was in development long before the iPhone was released. Furthermore, the first mobile app store was on the Danger Hiptop. Most of the iPhone features were directly copied from Palm, an already very successful product.
Sorry, but Apple doesn't deserve much credit for this. In fact, Apple basically took lots of other people's ideas and turned them into the iPhone.
Show some facts backing up your claims. Otherwise it's just fanboy propaganda…