Daniel@19: The VAR Guy isn’t surprised that XP still dominates 85% of the Windows installed base. Windows 7 is still fairly new and Vista was, um, a blunder. Microsoft has more than 1 billion systems to potentially update… Windows 7 is off to a strong start and seems respected by many Microsoft partners/customers. That said, Microsoft certainly faces heated competition. Thanks for reading.

FrankM@20: Please keep The VAR Guy posted as you continue to embrace various SaaS strategies. You sound like you’re ahead of the pack…

Franki@21: Your points about Android are undeniable. Seems like hardware makers are lining up behind Android on smart phones and tablets… though Steve Ballmer says Windows 7 tablets and Windows Phone 7 will show momentum late this year… Hmmm…

Grant@22: The VAR Guy agrees that Microsoft often undercuts rivals on price. But in the case of Hyper-V, it’s a fairly new product/market for Microsoft. So low-ball pricing doesn’t hurt Microsoft’s virtualization margins because the company doesn’t have a large virtualization installed base to protect.

All: The VAR Guy has truly enjoyed this dialog.
-TVG

Since I first posted last week, I see the news is tending to confim impressions that this is somewhat wishful thinking. First the Infoworld review of ‘Windows Phone 7′ was very critical – their advice was for MS to abandon it.
I don’t know/care much about VMWare as mentioned as ‘VMware vs. Microsoft Hyper-V’ but I noticed The Register story today that VMWare appear to still be growing – and that MS are giving away Hyper-V to compete. In any market, if MS are having to give software away or sell it dirt cheap (like XP on netbooks), then they are looking at decreasing profit.

As for Linux not taking the market by storm, I’d point out Android, WebOS, Meago, Tomtom, Tivo, ChromeOS and an awful lot of routers all use Linux components, and most people don’t even know.. and the top 500 supercomputers list contains a pretty awful condemnation for Windows at the top end but speaks pretty highly for Linux.

This speech seems to be more how Microsoft would like the future to turn out rather than the current state of affairs.

I don’t like Steve Job’s walled garden, but nobody can deny they are selling devices in numbers Microsoft can only dream of right now.

Windows 7 phone from what I have seen has a clunky interface that takes too long to do things, and has limitations that match those of the first iphones which everyone else has moved past (multitasking anyone?)

I was planning on some vacation time this week, but business just kept coming in. We are usually low key from mid-June through the end of July, but that did not happen this year.

Top & bottom PL are both up double digits – YTD and up again this quarter, more than the first two quarters. We are not fighting for business or are we giving away more margins to offer free anything.

We have spent less on advertising this year than last and our sales channel is picking up the pace very nicely. So thanks MSFT, keep on keeping Google in the news cycle.

After listening to Kevin Turner’s keynote in its entireity I was struck most by his tone.
He did not sound like a man that was proud and confident of Microsofts achievements.
He came across to me as a man that was angry and frustrated with the market and maybe the media for not giving Microsoft more love.

That is just my perception but if attitudes like that exist at the top that does not bode well for Microsofts culture or their decision making process.

The marketshare case he made with the IDC numbers is certainly interesting however the most interesting number I saw was that 85% of customers are still on XP. If Windows 7 is so compelling then why have more customers not switched to it a full year after it’s release?

Nothing is form Microsoft unencumbered, you need to have Windblows and Internet Exploder to watch their stinky video.

And they say something to someone…

As a Linux and Windows admin and several Linux deployments, it’s clear that Linux is not making great gains on the desktop, not sure about the server side. The failures of Vista haven’t resulted in mass Linux deployments. As open source applications like OpenOffice and Drupal are running on XP, Win7 and Windows Server, there are less reasons to move to Linux desktops and soon servers. MS may have taken a few hits (Vista and Kin) but won’t result in their downfall.

Antony@12: Interesting observation, but it truly seems like Google is now Microsoft’s biggest fear…

Apexwm@13: The VAR Guy isn’t quite so cynical. All tech companies spin stories to their benefit. It’s up to customers and the media (including anonymous bloggers) to analyze the statements and draw their own conclusions.

Thanks for all the comments. The VAR Guy values all the opinions and feedback.
-TVG

Says it all really. People never talk about there deepest fears