Unpredictable. Unfocused. Just like life.

Hey, I'm just repeating what Paul Graham said:

A few days ago I suddenly realized Microsoft was dead. I was talking to a young startup founder about how Google was different from Yahoo. I said that Yahoo had been warped from the start by their fear of Microsoft. That was why they'd positioned themselves as a "media company" instead of a technology company. Then I looked at his face and realized he didn't understand. It was as if I'd told him how much girls liked Barry Manilow in the mid 80s. Barry who?

Microsoft? He didn't say anything, but I could tell he didn't quite believe anyone would be frightened of them.

Microsoft used to be a great company. They were successful by focusing on a couple of products, and by crushing anyone they considered to be a competititor, often using questionable methods. Remember Stac Electronics? How about Netscape?

But as more perceived competitors came along they started to create more and more tangential products, often with either unclear value, or no value at all. Where their products had once been best of breed, they now seem to be creating "me too" products. Windows Live anyone?As for their original successful products they have merely added more bloat, with little added value. In order to recover they will need to focus on what customers actually need and want.

I'm of the opinion that it is too late for Windows though. While many corporations may continue to buy Windows PCs as they always have, Apple is making significant inroads at least in terms of mindshare. Given the ability to run the same software on the Mac, the fewer security issues, and the improved ease of use, some companies will now switch. And the Mac has a cachet that Windows will never have.

Rob Hyndman says Windows is for grandmas. Or to use an old General Motors tagline:

Windows IS your father's Oldsmobile.

And really, when is the last time you thought about buying an Oldsmobile? Or any GM car for that matter.