Microsoft's Pyrrhic Victory in the Netbook War

Finally an analysis of what's happened with netbooks and where the market is likely to go which is spot on.

Agree, Mr. Moody is spot-on. And he uses cool words like "Pyrrhic" :D

It's occurred to me that the whole "Netbooks first run linux, then move along to Windows" thing is exactly what has happened in any number of common technologies:

1. First computer worm: 4.xBSD, 1988, reached perfection with Code Red and Slammer on windows. 2. Computer Viruses: 1984, again 4BSD. A constant plague on Windows even today. 3. TCP/IP: 4BSD 4. SLIP and later PPP: Unix 5. HTTP: 1st server and browser on NeXTStep 6. Usenet: definitely a Unix original, emulated later by Fido, I think.

This is all arguable, of course, which is what makes it so much fun. How about FTP? Doesn't that come from Tenex, one of those PDP-10/20 36-bit OSes?

Honestly, I don't know what to make of this phenomena, but it does seem to have something going for it.

phsolide, you left out the part where MS mocks and belittles and tries to sabotage emerging techologies. Then if that fails and they start to make money for someone else, they horn in on the party and boast of their innovation.

tc, you forgot the quotes around "innovation."

Quotes are implied when referring to innovation by Microsoft. Maybe you are too old to have learned that in school.

Microsoft is kind of like a current breakfast cereal ad. They put the "no" in "inNOvation"

Microsoft - the company at which marketing is part of R&D expenses. $9 billion sounds less impressive if marketing is part of it; especially compared to what comes out of it.

Liked Glyn's article; there's more to success than market share alone. Still a bit unsatisfying though, it's like playing a good soccer match and being better than the opponent without scoring a goal. However, that might change in the near future.

Quoting: a good soccer match

Ewww...soccer. At least say "football" so I can pretend we're talking about the Panthers.

:)

I joke, I joke!

Eww... football.

At least say "Penrith Panthers' so I can pretend we're talking about Rugby. I mean, what good is a sport called football and then you play using your hands?

I'm with Hans. I can see the attraction of European football a/k/a soccer. American football? Not so much.

> I can see the attraction of European football a/k/a soccer. American football? Not so much.

You can't see the attraction of 300 lb bruisers trying to just short of kill each other, while slightly smaller people try to avoid them and then almost kill each other? :)

Good description, jdixon. That's pretty much how I see it. It all seems quite brutal to me.

Give me Aussie rules football any day. Would that ESPN still carried it.

ESPN2 carries the championship. But honestly I don't know how any of you like soccer. It's like the retarded brother of Hockey. Soccer players don't even know how to fall down.

Quoting:You can't see the attraction of 300 lb bruisers trying to just short of kill each other, while slightly smaller people try to avoid them and then almost kill each other? :)

Bruisers? You mean wussies. Go watch some European rugby or Australian football. It's pretty much the same thing as US football but without the sissy padding and body armor.

Quoting:without the sissy padding and body armor.

And the clock that's stopped more than it runs.

Quoting: At least say "Penrith Panthers' so I can pretend we're talking about Rugby. I mean, what good is a sport called football and then you play using your hands?

LOL. I've seen a couple of rugby games, the rules are close enough to American football to easily follow what's going on. Loved it. I love American football (Carolina Panthers, BTW), but I think I enjoyed watching rugby more. It'd be great to actually be able to watch it on a regular basis here.

And yes, Caitlyn and jdixon, it is brutal...wouldn't have it any other way. :) I loved to play it in high school, I love to watch it now.