Microsoft revenue misses, shares tumble ($1B short of projections)

[onehandle]

Source: Reuters

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Microsoft Corp posted a steeper-than-expected 17 percent drop in quarterly revenue and said its business continued to be hurt by the weak global PC and server markets, sending its shares down 8 percent and hurting broader stock futures.

The world's largest software maker, whose operating systems power the vast majority of the world's personal computers, offered little hope for a turnaround in technology until next year, despite recent optimism from others in the sector.

"We still see conditions being challenging for the balance of this calendar year," Chief Financial Officer Christopher Liddell said in a telephone interview.

"At least sequentially, we are seeing a little bit of growth. While things are not necessarily getting better, they may have bottomed out," said Liddell.

Read more: http://tech.yahoo.com/news/nm/20090723/tc_nm/us_microsoft_4

---

Meanwhile Apple had it's best year ever and Google gets stronger all the time.

A few days ago a lone prominent analyst said sell your Microsoft stock. Tonight he's looking like a genius.

[WriteDown]

1. Might be time to buy...

Windows 7 is sweet.

[onehandle]

2. It's an improvement, but it's no Snow Leopard.

September. $29 for Leopard owners.

[WriteDown]

4. You can run snow leopard on a PC?

How do you do that?

[Truth Talks]

6. Hackintosh

Google hackintosh.

You can also get software (e.g. Parallels) that will allow you to run Windows on a Mac. But...

After suffering as a Microslave for many years, I finally upgraded to a Mac and discovered that I need virtually no M$ software. I bought Microsoft Office for Mac so I could continue using Microsoft's spreadsheet, Excel. That's it.

[WriteDown]

10. But I don't want to do that...

I want to just install a legitimate program and have it work. Almost sounds like Apple is trying to establish a monopoly. I've also tried to update my iphone without itunes, but for some reason it does not work.

[Truth Talks]

12. Yes.

"I want to just install a legitimate program and have it work."

Same here. Aside from ethical/legal questions, I believe you can run into problems updating your software on a Hackintosh. Still, I was seriously considering going that route until Apple slashed its MacBook Pro prices.

I paid $3,000 for my 17" MacBook Pro three years ago. They've now released a super small (13") model for about $1,300. The size makes it almost qualify as a netbook, something I'm crazy about. I'm going to wait until this fall, then buy a new MacBook Pro with the new operating system, Snow Leopard, installed. That should be a nice upgrade.

"Almost sounds like Apple is trying to establish a monopoly."

Microsoft, Apple and Google are all monopolistic, using the word loosely. M$ is the only one I hate, though I wouldn't like to see any of them establish a true monopoly.

"I've also tried to update my iphone without itunes, but for some reason it does not work."

I bought my first cell phone just a few months ago. I was going to get an iPhone, but I resent the fact that I have to subscribe to AT&T - and it ain't cheap. I got a Blackberry instead, but I'd still like to get an iPhone some day. I'm also interested in the touchscreen tablet/netbook Apple is supposedly working on.

[WriteDown]

17. See post 16. nt

[Born Free]

19. You can also get software (e.g. Parallels) that will allow you to run Windows on a Mac. But...

"After suffering as a Microslave for many years, I finally upgraded to a Mac and discovered that I need virtually no M$ software. I bought Microsoft Office for Mac so I could continue using Microsoft's spreadsheet, Excel. That's it."

I have seen many try to switch from Windows to linux and those that can only think "Windows " and insist everything has to be like "Windows" never seem to make it. On the other hand, those that eventually accept linux for what it is and not spend their entire time trying to make it into just a free version of Windows do very well and even have some fun with it.

[Jester Messiah]

22. Hackintosh isn't worth the hassle. OS X pales in comparison to a good Ubuntu install. [nt]

[ChairmanAgnostic]

23. neo office (Mac) runs better than MS' MacOffice.

MUCH better.

And the price is just about perfect.
I deleted MS from my business macs, and run solely neo. It reads, writes, pretty much everything in every format, and makes PDFs easily.

[Sgent]

26. If I remember right

Neo Office is the Mac version of Open Office. If that's true, the spread sheet doesn't hold a candle to Excel for anything but the simplest of tasks.

I use open software when I can, but if I lose 2 hours of productivity over a year because some feature is missing (spreadsheet), or because of formating issues (word processor), then MS office has paid for itself.

[ChairmanAgnostic]

29. OOw, contrair.

actually, I've never had a problem with either, ever.

on the other hand, open orfice had major formating problems which really turned me off. Neo solved them.

[sakabatou]

30. That's for the upgrade

and not the full version, right?

[Egnever]

32. right ! and...

it also comes with preconditions. Never underestimate the desire of apple to stick its hand in your pocket.

[Tesha]

46. What preconditions?

The only "precondition" for Snow Leopard is that you must be using
an Intel-based Macintosh. Leopard represented the "end of the upgrade
line" for the PowerPC-based Macs.

(I guess Mr. Tesha will start negotiating for a hardware upgrade now,
although he seems pretty happy now that he upgraded his original
15" Aluminum to 250 GB. ;) )

And with regard to "it's an upgrade", conceptually, *ALL* of the
operating system software that Apple sells is upgrades. You
obtained the original license when you bought your Macintosh
and any further system software you buy acts as an upgrade
to that original license of use.

Tesha

[Truth Talks]

3. Bring it on!

I pray that I'll live long enough to see Microsoft crash and burn. But what about Bill Gates' other corrupt mega-corporation, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation? I'm so sick of that bastard's phony philanthropy...

[WriteDown]

5. I've long said that Bill Gates should be more like Steve Jobs...

Keep your money to yourself, then no one can complain.

[Truth Talks]

8. No Rest for the Guilty

As long as Bill Gates is making money through unethical/immoral, if not illegal, means, I'll complain. But I'll complain even more when the SOB exploits workers, children and the ill, then calls it philanthropy. That's beyond sick.

[WriteDown]

9. Yep....

At least Steve Jobs provides all those unionized ipod manufacturing plants in the US. Ever since he started doing that, I've realized how bad MSFT really is .

[Truth Talks]

11. Thanks for the tip.

I wasn't even aware of that.

I do have some complaints about Steve Jobs, but they're insignificant compared to Bill Gates' rap sheet.

[WriteDown]

16. Sounds like you'er woefully uninformed.

Not sure where you're irrational hatred comes from, but being a fan boy it's understandable.

[Truth Talks]

24. Get a clue...

My "irrational hatred" comes from a combination of personal experience, research/investigation and common sense. I can understand why right-wingers worship Bill Gates, but it boggles my mind how, in this era of rampant corporate corruption, so many liberals buy the corporate media line about Bill Gates the "philanthropist." The truth really isn't hard to find.

[WriteDown]

25. I have a PC and an iPhone...

Bill Gates does some good things with his money. His foundations help with polio and malaria is vital to many nations, but Gates is hated. Steve Jobs hordes his money and sells ear pacifiers made in China and is love. Therefore, the solution is for Gates to just keep all of his money and go home. I can buy a Microsoft mouse or keyboard and use it on an HP, Toshiba, Acer, Gateway, Dell, etc. I can buy an Apple mouse or keyboard and use it on a..............Apple. I can't even activate an iphone without going through iTunes. I actually like Apple products. I just don't worship them.


I think you fall into this category: http://www.theonion.com/content/video/apple_introduces_revolutionary

[Truth Talks]

27. Reality Check

"Bill Gates does some good things with his money."

Any good he does is far outweighed by the bad.

"His foundations help with polio and malaria is vital to many nations, but Gates is hated."

You mean many nations couldn't cope with polio and malaria without Bill Gates? That's the worst form of corporate welfare.

"I can buy a Microsoft mouse or keyboard and use it on an HP, Toshiba, Acer, Gateway, Dell, etc. I can buy an Apple mouse or keyboard and use it on a..............Apple. I can't even activate an iphone without going through iTunes."

M$ and Apple are both very proprietary. Fortunately, one can buy compatible gizmos from many other companies.

"I actually like Apple products. I just don't worship them."

Nor do I worship Apple products. I'll confess to sometimes feeling almost ecstatic at the boost in performance I got when I upgraded to a Mac. But I'd gladly switch to Linux if it was as user friendly and there were Linux versions of the software programs I need.

"I think you fall into this category..."

You've certainly defined your category. Maybe you can help Bill Gates think of a new disease to suddenly care about in order to divert attention from Microsoft's next big flop.

[WriteDown]

28. You've proven my point....

1) Bill Gates should just end any charity he's involved in and enjoy his money for himself. Maybe then he can get the accolades of Steve Jobs.

2) Uh, no. Once again, you can only use Apple products with Apple. MSFT is compatible with tons of different companies.

3) Almost ecstatic? Symptoms of fanboyitis.

4) Windows 7 looks like a winner and MSFT office is going to be free this year. Sorry, that hatred clouds your judgement.

[Truth Talks]

31. Oh, really?

"1) Bill Gates should just end any charity he's involved in and enjoy his money for himself. Maybe then he can get the accolades of Steve Jobs."

Actually, Gates should be relieved of all the money he's effectively stolen from millions of people over the years.

"2) Uh, no. Once again, you can only use Apple products with Apple. MSFT is compatible with tons of different companies."

Dude, I have all kinds of non-Apple software running on my Mac, and there are Appple programs that run on PC's. Get a clue.

"3) Almost ecstatic? Symptoms of fanboyitis."

No, it just means I'm so relieved to finally be making progress on my websites after wrestling with Windoze for so many years.

"4) Windows 7 looks like a winner and MSFT office is going to be free this year. Sorry, that hatred clouds your judgement."

Windows 7 should be free to victims of Vista, just the latest in an endless series of Microshit disasters.

Now take your hatred of everyone who perceives the truth about Microsoft and go play with your X-Box.

[Egnever]

33. the truth about microsoft?

Seriously?

Apple is everythingi hate about corporate practices. They are proprietary to the extreme. Ever try to change a battery on an ipod? How bout a hard drive or vid card on a mac? How bout even moving your music from one computer to another or a friends from an ipod. how bout the recent update for Iphone/touches for only $12.99. Apple is deep in your pocket and trying to take more every day.


Apple finaly learned they had to get along with the rest of the world to succeed and are doing a far better job of it now than they have in the past but theres a long way to go.

I can build a pc today for $400 or less that the majority of PC users would think was lightning fast.
I cant build a mac. Hell you cant even buy one for less than a grand and that one for a grand is no prize.

If anyone unseats MS it will be google from an end user perspective they rarely charge for anything.

[Truth Talks]

35. Yawn

Apple and M$ are both expensive. The difference is that Apple's costs are generally reflected in the price tag; Microsoft's are hidden.

"Apple is everythingi hate about corporate practices. They are proprietary to the extreme. Ever try<snip>

Proprietary is far from the last work in corporate corruption.

"Apple is deep in your pocket and trying to take more every day."

Bill Gates is deep in your school and screwing your kids evry day.

"I can build a pc today for $400 or less that the majority of PC users would think was lightning fast."

If you want to build a PC, go with WIndows or Linux - or learn how to make a Hackintosh. Most of us are content to simply own a functioning computer.

"Hell you cant even buy one for less than a grand and that one for a grand is no prize."

Are you sure? I thought the Mac Mini was selling for $600? I paid a whopping $3,000 for my MacBook Pro when I was semi-employed. It was a helluva price to pay, but it has turned out to be a better bargain than any PC I've ever owned.

"If anyone unseats MS it will be google from an end user perspective they rarely charge for anything."

Apple just celebrated its best non-holiday quarter ever. Either Apple or Google could eventually stomp Microsoft, but it will probably take a team effort to win out over M$'s trademark corruption.

[Egnever]

36. LOL

A mac mini. Hah a mack mini has 1 gig of ram. its a joke the components in a mac mini barely justify a price of $250 let alone $600. I could build a box with the same specs as a mac mini for a fraction of the cost apple is raping people for.

Proprietary is a scheme to charge you outrageous prices for replacement parts/service pure and simple. If you like getting bent over for that sort of thing more power to you but the majority of the world does not.

MS hardly gets any of my money I don't know what you are smoking. I would love some of that good stuff.

The only thing ms gets me for is the os and if you know where/how to buy it it will cost you less than $100 bucks and can be used over and over. Good luck with that on a mac.

3k is a bargain? I could build 5 gaming machines for that price. Glad you enjoyed it but a bargain it wasn't.

I notice you don't want to address the craptastic unwillingness of apple to let you own your files. A client has an Iphone that they were syncing with their mac through mobile me and her calendar got corrupt. The only info that was correct was on her Iphone but there was no way to retrieve it cause of apples compulsion for control. The iphones info could not simply be downloaded and backed up you had to reset the phone to get the Mobile me to sync again and reseting the phone wipes the info. It was the most amazing display of stupidity in a service I have ever seen. All because the data got corrupted on their servers.

Apple is for people that like shiny things and don't care what they pay for them. More power to you if thats what you are into but a bargain it ain't.

[Truth Talks]

37. Glad you enjoy Mickeysoft

"A mac mini. Hah a mack mini has 1 gig of ram. its a joke the components in a mac mini barely justify a price of $250 let alone $600. I could build a box with the same specs as a mac mini for a fraction of the cost apple is raping people for."

Yeah, but it would run on Windoze, not Mac OS X. Big difference.

"Proprietary is a scheme to charge you outrageous prices for replacement parts/service pure and simple."

Microsoft is a scheme for screwing you behind your back - selling you crappy software; getting instistutions to outrageous licensing schemes, then blackmailing them; making taxpayers foot the bill for reolocating your "philanthropy" headquarters and on and on.

"If you like getting bent over for that sort of thing more power to you but the majority of the world does not."

Apple has tripled its market share in just a few years. Microsoft's desperate (and comical) advertising campaign(s) testify to its confidence in itself. Billysoft is a joke.

"MS hardly gets any of my money I don't know what you are smoking. I would love some of that good stuff."

Well, duh...after you've forked over the money for your hardware and software, you can kick back and enjoy the bugs and viruses M$ is famous for.

"The only thing ms gets me for is the os and if you know where/how to buy it it will cost you less than $100 bucks and can be used over and over. Good luck with that on a mac."

Which OS - XP? Vista? Windows 7 (the Vista Service Pack)? Business edtion? Home edition? Organized crime edition? With Internet Explorer 8, or are you backgrading to IE7 or IE6? If Bill Gates could scrape his mashed potato brains together he might be able offer the world a clear vision of where Mickeysoft is heading.

"3k is a bargain? I could build 5 gaming machines for that price. Glad you enjoyed it but a bargain it wasn't."

Gaming? Why didn't you say so? Yes, if you're into computer games, you might want to stick with M$. I recommend Apple for web designers and other mature adults.

"I notice you don't want to address the craptastic unwillingness of apple to let you own your files. A client has an Iphone that they were syncing with their mac through mobile me and her calendar got corrupt. The only info that was correct was on her Iphone but there was no way to retrieve it cause of apples compulsion for control. The iphones info could not simply be downloaded and backed up you had to reset the phone to get the Mobile me to sync again and reseting the phone wipes the info. It was the most amazing display of stupidity in a service I have ever seen. All because the data got corrupted on their servers."

Bummer. That explains why the iPhone is less popular than Microsoft's Zune. LOL!

"Apple is for people that like shiny things and don't care what they pay for them. More power to you if thats what you are into but a bargain it ain't."

M$ is for people who don't care about performance or security and like contributing money to an organization that excels only at screwing children. More power to you, dude.

[WriteDown]

44. You're points are more emotional than intellectual....

They border on Mac worship which can be dangerous, haha. I especially like the point about viruses. Considering the small market share that apple possesses, its not a big surprise that viruses are not much of a concern.

If you really like Apple, this is something you NEED to get:

Apple Introduces Revolutionary New Laptop with No Keyboard. PS. Are you Alex Zalban?

http://www.theonion.com/content/video/apple_introduces_revolutionary

[TommyO]

39. Really?

I installed two hard drives in my MacPro without any problems, and I'll be upgrading the video card soon, with a product that is not produced by Apple. I've moved my music from a Windows machine to a PowerMac to a MacPro without any problems. If you're moving music from your PC to a friend's, you might be engaging in copyright violation. iPhone software upgrades are free, if you use an iPod Touch, it's a $9.95 upgrade, not $12.99.

I've built my own PCs in the past, but now I want to use my computer, not build it and babysit it.

[WriteDown]

45. Okay....

Now move your music from your napter or any other unlimited music service to your iphone. :)

[Tesha]

47. Why yes, I have "tried" to change the hard drive in various Macintoshes.

Quite a few times.

Worked every time.

And moving music? That works fine too, as long as your music
is actually yours (either from a CD or properly licensed via iTunes).
No problem; that music lives in your iTunes and you can put it
on as many iPods or iPhones as you choose without ever needing
to copy it back from "a friend's iPod" (where you probably don't
have any license to use that music legally).

Were you too ignorant to accomplish these tasks? You could always
ask for help in the Mac forum.

Tesha

[WriteDown]

48. So I can log into my napster 2 go account

and download as much music as I want onto my iphone? Sweet, I'm going to try to do that now.

edited for clarity.

[Tesha]

50. If Napster provides you with MP3s, then there's no problem. (NT)

[WriteDown]

51. No....

I want to be able to pay my 14$ a month and download unlimited music. Why can't I do that?

[Tesha]

52. So what format(s) does Napster deliver its music in these days? (NT)

[WriteDown]

54. Not sure....

Some sort of proprietary DRM format I suppose.

[Tesha]

55. That'd be a shame; Apple's files are now mostly DRM-free.

As are my tens of thousands of rips from CDs that I own.

Tesha

[WriteDown]

56. Odd...

When I buy music on iTunes, I am limited on the # of computers and ipods I can put them on. :)

The point is, that I listen to a lot of music. I'm finding new songs daily that I'll listen to for a while and then discard. That is what Napster, Yahoo, Rhapsody are for. For some reason, Apple prevents me from using those services.

[Tesha]

57. You *WERE* limited; you aren't any longer.

Most of the audio content on the iTunes Music Stiore is
now sold DRM-free. And most of the previously-purchased
content can be "unlocked" for a fee of $0.30/song or so.

Tesha

[WriteDown]

58. Shows you how long its been since I used crappy iTunes...

I still think 99 cents is way too much to pay per song. I can use Napster to change my music on my Sandisk mp3 player daily if I want to. Of course Apple is the only manufacturer that explicitly won't allow their units to use services like Napster, Yahoo, and Rhapsody. I'm sure they have a good reason though. :).

[TommyO]

38. I tried an experiment to test #2

I took the keyboard from my MacPro and hooked it up to the Dell laptop that I use for work. It worked.

I took the Apple mouse from the same system and hooked it up to the Dell. It worked

If I had an Apple Cinema display, guess what, that works with PCs too (though for the most recent one, you need a display card with a mini port on the PC).

As for Windows 7, yes it looks good, in fact, I'm running the RC on my MacPro, under Parallels, right now.

[WriteDown]

49. So...

This will work on my HP laptop?

http://www.amazon.com/Apple-Mighty-Mouse-Wireless-Kit/dp/tech-data/B000V1LOC6/ref=de_a_smtd

[orwell]

7. Rah Rah Vista!

...Go Team!

:eyes:

[CountAllVotes]

13. what? Vista wasn't a hit?

Biggest pile o'shit I've ever seen.

No wonder they are losing $. People absolutely HATE Vista because Vista sucks! :puke:

:kick:

[alfredo]

15. Since WindowsMe

[Occulus]

42. XP was tolerable.

Painful at times, but tolerable.

Take a look at my post below. They've an improvement in the works, I've been using it for a while, and it's actually good.

[hamerfan]

14. MSFT revenue misses,

And this is news?
Wake me when something important happens, maybe when they develop an OS that "just works".
Thanks,
hamerfan

[alfredo]

18. They've been moving sideways for a decade at least.

Apple's market cap is now larger than Google's.

[Tabasco_Dave]

20. People are holding on to their old PC's

Processor speeds are not growing as fast. 15 years ago processor speeds would double every 6 to 12 months so you where forced to buy a computer every 2 years. Now processors are barely getting any faster. I have a 3 year old computer with a 2 ghz AMD processor that works just fine it was running a little slow so i upgraded the RAM for $39.00 and i plan to keep it for another 2 years.

[formercia]

21. I wouldn't trust Google either

http://www.threadwatch.org/node/9691

[Egnever]

34. I dont think you can avoid this

Technology is only going to move forward and with cloud computing becoming more and more the norm in the future going forward. Nothing will be forgotten.

I am not quite sure if in the end this will be a good or a bad thing.

[Greyhound]

43. It will be a bad thing.

Because of the motivation behind it and the people that control it, it will be used for their benefit to the detriment of the rest.

We had a great opportunity under the Clinton administration to turn this around, but of course, short-term profits trumped logic and intellect, so we got this abomination. It will be very bad.

[fujiyama]

40. Where's my really small violin?

[Occulus]

41. Windows 7 has the ability to turn things around for them, but they need to market it right.

I decided to try out the Windows 7 beta (I also have the release candidate ready to install when the beta dies). Having tried out Vi$ta (and hated it to the point of wanting to rid myself of it), I have to say that Windows 7 is going to be one of those rare Micro$oft gems that's actually worth getting.

I haven't booted into XP since I installed 7 (I'm on a dual-boot.. heh, it was triple-boot). I haven't had any serious software compatibility issues; thins that "worked" in Vi$ta actually do work as advertised in 7. Also, 7 isn't nearly as annoying about security as Vi$ta was.

The most shocking change was in the performance of my games. Even in Vi$ta, I wasn't getting the performance I thought I was going to get out of, oh, say, Oblivion or Bioshock. After I got rid of Vi$ta, I went back to XP and, until I tried out 7, I thought I had a good gaming rig (quad core AMD CPU, dual NVidia GeForce 9500 GT video cards, 4 GB of RAM, Windows XP SP3).

I was wrong. One specific example of how wrong I was would be a game called "The Last Remnant". It's a Japanese role-playing game in the spirit of Final Fantasy and its ilk. While playing the game, a background app called Fraps reported the frames per second onscreen. In that game under XP, I was getting 22-25 frames per second max, with all details levels in the game set to their highest levels. By contrast, under Windows 7, I get sixty frames per second consistently. That's quite a remarkable improvement.

Yeah, I'm talking 7 up, but I doing it because it's true. I'm using it right now; I no longer want Windows XP. Windows 7 is going to be to Vi$ta what Windows XP was to Windows ME.

[bemildred]

53. Bah.

You can maximize quality or profit, but not both.

Windows is a disastrously bad operating system, but it makes a lot of money. The best operating system I ever programmed on was Solaris, and Sun is bankrupt and remaindered.

Marketing is the enemy of technical excellence.