Some time back I wrote an article titled The end of all things PC. Of course, several of my tech friends disagreed with the article then, their reasoning being that other persons years ago would have said the same thing and to date nothing would have happened along those lines. Now that might be true, but there was no Windows 8 or Surface computers then.
Many persons may not realize that the arrival of Microsoft Windows 8 and the Surface line of computers will herald the beginning of the end for the personal computer and OEMs (Original Equipment Manufacturers) as we know it/them. The fact that Microsoft has decided to create their own computer hardware should make that even more evident.
How so you ask? Well for years now Microsoft has had to put up with OEMs delivering sub-par hardware to be used with their Windows operating system. This of course allowed the OEMs to sell their computers for much less than Macs while maximizing profits at the expense of performance (which just happens to be one of the reasons persons use to justify their Mac purchase).
Microsoft has also had to facilitate driver-support for tens of thousands of different pieces of hardware which adds to the "bloated-ness" of the OS (remember Windows Vista?). This "fragmentation" has led to an unholy marriage between hardware and OS which naturally affect the performance of the final products, something that Apple has been able to steer clear of.
So what has Microsoft decided to do? They decided to try "the Apple approach". They would create both the hardware (The Surface Computers) and software (Windows 8 for now). This naturally can only result in a better marriage between hardware and OS (such as is seen on Mac computers) resulting in a better optimized computing experience. It means we can also see a decrease in the level of support Microsoft will be giving to third part components makers i.e less drivers support.
This business model will most likely result in Microsoft being better able to compete with Apple, but it spells disaster for OEMs like HP, Asus, Dell, Acer etc., as well as the "DIY or Do It Yourself community". This means from prototype to problems, customers/consumers will have to depend on Microsoft much as Apple fans have to depend on Apple.
Where does that leave the OEMs we have so come to love and respect? I believe many of them will have to either embrace Linux (hooray for Ubuntu), create their own OS or bow out of the game. Now, what are your thoughts on this matter?
"Microsoft has had to put up with OEMs delivering sub-par hardware to be used with their Windows operating system"?
ReplyDeleteAre you serious? The hardware is sub-par? As compared to what? I am afraid that I do not follow your (lack of) logic here.
"Microsoft has also had to facilitate driver-support for tens of thousands of different pieces of hardware." I do not see how that is a problem to M$. It is up to the hardware manufacturers to ensure that they provide working drivers for the hardware that they make. M$ decided to try (and fail) to integrate as much drivers as is possible into their OS stating, I believe, with that fiasco called Vista and resulting in more bloating of an already overbloated line of OSs. That is their problem, NOT the HW manufacturers'.
Now with regards to M$ actually making the hardware, if the lessons of Windows OSs and (yeck!) M$IE (bloatware) are any indication (and I think that they are), we will soon be faced with ENIAC sized 'personal' computers and tablets the size of football fields.
It will be a sad day indeed for computing if M$ desices to make it's own hardware, unless of course the other HM manufacturers decide to embrace (Hooray) Linux - that ought to discourage some of the many idiots from even touching a PC.
You have to admit that MS having to support all the different bits of hardware from different maufacturers have resulted in the lack of IOS finesse on Windows based computers. They have not placed any major restrictions on the hardware that should be used with their OS; these contribute to how Microsoft OS feels and "moves" when compared to Apple and their devices. Now, from a business point of view the move is a good one, but for those of us in the DIY community...there's trouble ahead. How many things can you change on a Mac again? And who else can make Macs apart from Apple. MS move does not bode well for companies such as HP, Dell etc., and that's what i'm pointing out
DeleteWe need to realize that part of the reason for Windows being so easy to exploit is because it is so "open". Microsoft have to ensure that all their partners stuff work while apple on the other hand control everything. The new approach is going to put quite a blow on the pirates and hackers out there. Note I did not say, the move was going to make the OS more secure. It will however, cut down on the amount of money MS loses due to piracy of their OS
ReplyDeleteRumors also swirling about their new Surface branded phones, people who say windows 8 sucks, try comparing System7, OS8 & OS9 with OSX then compare XP, Vista and 7 with 8, its simple its just change, do you still fear change. The computers will still work and do what they have to do, as bad as Vista was people made millions of dollars using vista for something or the other. OSX has not really changed since maybe 02, yet a machine running it cost twice as much as a decent windows machine. (if people pay for a good windows machine they get one, dont hear much iBUYPOWER, Falcon Northwest, Alienware users complain much, buy(PAY FOR) a good computer (mac or pc) and be happy with it (not dude u got a dell for $350), Surface may not be great at first, but the 2.0 devices are sure to make up for that next year
ReplyDeleteI could not agree with you more. Pay for crap, get crap. Windows 8 is going to be great (I love my Windows Phone 7.5) it just that there's more to the new OS and Surface than meets the eyes
DeleteThe other thing I forgot to mention is Invasion of Privacy. Who remebers that fiasco/file in Windows 98 (do not remember its name now - it was so long ago) that always started up by default and nobody knows exactly what it did (many suspect it was spyware) and you had to disable it? What happens when M$ decides to do the same thing with their hardware? Will we even know that our data is beig stolen
ReplyDelete