Microsoft learned from failed software

With time, Microsoft has achieved countless successes and, of course, many failures, but even if it is so late to enter the competition, it can also manage to bring some products to the forefront. Can Microsoft Windows Azure be as successful as the Windows operating system? Or is it a niche product like Windows Mobile?

Like almost all large companies, Microsoft has so far had a lot of great products, some general products, and all the pieces that failed. But in a product where that part is considered a failure (or, given the amount of money and the number of developers involved, only a very limited success), we see Microsoft's early Windows 1.0 (1985), Windows 2.0, and Windows 386 followed by WebTV (1995), Windows Millennium (2000), Internet Explorer 6, and recent Zune, Windows Mobile, and Vista.

In an article titled "The Bottom 10 most failed software", John Dvorak put Windows 1.0 in the seventh place in the worst software PRODUCT:

I mean, look. It was a joke that only a handful of people had accepted the product in 1985, and when Microsoft finally started promoting it, it put itself under public scrutiny. The next boat, including Windows 2.0 and Windows 386, are just as bad as it is.

Interestingly, it is thought that Windows is ultimately the most successful operating system in the world. Microsoft learned that Windows 3.1 was a great product, followed by a very successful Windows 95. Later, however, Microsoft failed to release Windows Millennium Edition (Me), which was considered by PC World as one of the worst in the history of 25 technology products Windows ME has been considered a true millennium bug, Rather than time related to the IYCC millennium bug.

Of the 25 most failed products in history, the WebTV ranked 23, which lists WalletPop products that have failed in many industries, not just software. PC World in the "History of the worst of the 25 technology products" list, put WebTV in the not glorious product lists.

WebTV (1995): In 1995, making the Web display on a regular TV is like watching an elephant tap-dancing--it's not surprising that it's not going to do well, it's not. Using WebTV, the Web page looks like a horse, and some media formats do not work at all, while using a remote control to jump the assignor between links is excruciating.

IE 6 has been found to be a security nightmare, ranking sixth in the list of the worst technology products in PC World. Although Zune, Windows Mobile, and Vista did not get the same rankings as other Microsoft products, they were considered unsuccessful, because Microsoft invested a lot in them and received little in return.

One of the most frequently mentioned failure products is Microsoft Bob, which is a non-technical user interface for Windows 3.1 and Windows 95. CNET sees it as the most unlikely product of the decade, and PC World puts it at seventh place in the worst software product in history. About Microsoft Bob,steve Ballmer said it was in the same situation: "We're sure we didn't make it, and we stopped it."

Microsoft already has a number of successful products, including Windows 95, Windows NT, Windows XP, Windows 7, Microsoft Office, the. NET Framework, Visual Studio, and Xbox 360, among others.

Microsoft is often late in the competition for products, but in many cases it manages to catch up with rivals and take the lead like Windows or office. Continuing this tradition, Microsoft is by no means the first to step into the cloud-product threshold, and Windows Azure joined the fray after Amazon EC2, saleforce.com, Rackspace and Google have established themselves in the market. However, in an article titled "Can Microsoft catch up by distributing azure?" , David Linthicum to see if Microsoft can manage to catch up with AWS, Google and other cloud providers. Linthicum mentions that even if Microsoft is not the first to enter a particular market, it will try to win.

Microsoft is again late for the "party". However, they continue to have a special place at the heart of many businesses, the brand loyalty that most cloud providers do not have. The idea is to get as many users on the platform as possible within the shortest amount of time. But is that a good strategy for Microsoft?

If you look back at the history of Microsoft, you will find it is always late to join the competition, but still can win. It came into the formative web in the 90 's and has always complained and screamed after Microsoft receptacle released. However, once they set up a site on the web, they had a browser market just a year later.

But, as Linthicum commented, the cloud would be different:

The clouds are very different. Cloud computing providers have established their place in the marketplace. It is hard to win over users who have been loyal to one or two of large vendors ... Unless you're willing to distribute it for free.

The reality of cloud computing is that the platform's subscription fee has only a small impact on the ROI of the platform. Like other cloud providers, Azure needs to prove that it is productive to prove that the cost is effective. That also means opening up, and Microsoft has some problems in the past. It looks like the azure leopard doesn't change its stripes.

Original title: Windows Azure: Imminent success or Ultimate niche?

Original address: Http://www.infoq.com/cn/news/2010/03/Is-Azure-Going-to-Succeed