Microsoft: Prosperous Incompetence

Microsoft, for quite a long time, has prospered in the technology industry; gather millions (and billions) of dollars in profit every year. Microsoft's Windows operating system is installed on more than 90% of all computers distributed and sold in the world. Its Office Suite is a necessity and staple for most students, businesses, and governments. Microsoft, no doubt, has some of the most profitable software sales in the world. Its profitability is growing more and more, even if its market share in operating systems is going down. It is a business miracle and model for some.

But then why does it prosper? Why, you ask. It currently has the most archaic operating system in the world, most insecure, least efficient, least stable, and the OS is closed source. Its software programs are monolithic compared to some other free and open source programs, Microsoft's Internet Explorer is, arguably, the least stable internet browser and has more holes than Swiss cheese after being shot with a machine gun. Almost any techie knows that Mozilla, Opera, or Firefox are better browsers than IE, but most people choose to use IE anyway. I'll answer those questions, and more.

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The first issue that I'll address is how Microsoft manages to stay on top, even with its crappy products. Microsoft manages to convince everybody that it's better than the other guy by making the consumer believe that Apple, Linux, and company are the other guys. What I mean is that Microsoft has already established itself as the de facto software guy, all that your software needs will come from him. If he's installed on your computer, then he's the one to trust. This type of thinking, unfortunately, is the kind of thinking the average non-techie consumer does when using his/her computer.

EEE, the monster that Microsoft has ingeniously created; the acronym stands for "Embrace, Extend, and Exterminate". Sounds pretty sinister for a company like Microsoft, doesn't it? EEE has been used by Microsoft for years to successfully "compete" or, rather, drive its competitors into the ground. Here's how the process works:

EMBRACE: Microsoft first creates software that is compatible with a competing product, which will allow "neutrality" between Microsoft's products and its competitors.

EXTEND: After it creates compatible software, Microsoft will extend its initial offering, making extensions and other "useful" additions to its software. Creating problems with compatibility with the competitor's software.

EXTERMINATE: Microsoft's software extensions become the standard due to its dominant market share, and well-known name. Thus, squashing down its competitor's software, and dominating that particular market.

A prime example of the use of EEE by Microsoft against a competitor is the whole IE vs. Netscape battle. Microsoft used the Windows platform bundled with IE as a broadsword against the competing internet browser, Netscape.

Microsoft also uses another corporate tactic, although this one is not just limited to Microsoft. FUD, which stands for "Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt", has been used by many corporations, from IBM to Apple, and even political parties have used FUD in smear campaigns against opponents. Right now, Microsoft is trying to battle the rising Linux threat by using FUD tactics with the "Get The Facts" campaign. Unfortunately, these "facts" aren't really facts.

An example is when Microsoft stated that Linux's cost is just as much as Windows in a server environment, they forgot to mention the price comparison was Linux on a very large and expensive IBM mainframe, while the Windows Server 2003 example was running on two 900 MHz Xeon processors. Microsoft is only giving you part of the truth here, thus creating uncertainty about the Linux product and Linux proponent's claims.

There is also a relative fear of the Linux operating system by many, as it has been touted as "very difficult to use" and "unreliable" by Microsoft proponents. Although the threat of Linux is relatively small, Microsoft still tries to quell any possible threat to the sales and market share of the Windows operating system.

Bill Gates has also attacked perfectly well-intentioned projects, such as the One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) project, going as far as to say, "The mothers are going to walk right up to that computer and say, 'My children are dying, what can you do?' They're not going to sit there and like, browse eBay." Honestly, Gates seems to only be able to see the narrow end of his own spectrum on helping get Africa and other nations out of the Third World.

To be continued with Part 2: Ctrl + C & Ctrl + V