05-07-2013, 08:35 PM
I don't thing gestures played much of a role in the consumer rejection of Windows 8.
Also, the Windows 8 episode isn't itself the problem, it's a symptom of a larger underlying problem: the dysfunctional corporate culture and weak leadership at Microsoft.
disclosure: my wife worked at MS for ten years, up until a few months ago (joined a startup) and I got an earful about Microsoft's slow stale decline.
Balmer is universally disliked. The bureaucratic malaise that hovers over the company like a thick fog is courtesy of Balmer. In a way, it's unfortunate that Balmer's influence has been so mediocre-misguided, instead of obvious-disaster-bad. If it were more of a full-blown crisis that would force Balmer out, it's a crisis that would be more painful in the short term, but long-term, might have a healthier, more dynamic outcome.
Apple went through a few of those crazy panics in the 1990s, as they scrambled for leadership, and came out the other end as a globally potent high-growth company. But that's because they really were burning-to-the-ground in trouble, and didn't have a choice. It was about survival. Microsoft's bloated problems are easier to mask.
Windows 8? It's just a symptom.
Also, the Windows 8 episode isn't itself the problem, it's a symptom of a larger underlying problem: the dysfunctional corporate culture and weak leadership at Microsoft.
disclosure: my wife worked at MS for ten years, up until a few months ago (joined a startup) and I got an earful about Microsoft's slow stale decline.
Balmer is universally disliked. The bureaucratic malaise that hovers over the company like a thick fog is courtesy of Balmer. In a way, it's unfortunate that Balmer's influence has been so mediocre-misguided, instead of obvious-disaster-bad. If it were more of a full-blown crisis that would force Balmer out, it's a crisis that would be more painful in the short term, but long-term, might have a healthier, more dynamic outcome.
Apple went through a few of those crazy panics in the 1990s, as they scrambled for leadership, and came out the other end as a globally potent high-growth company. But that's because they really were burning-to-the-ground in trouble, and didn't have a choice. It was about survival. Microsoft's bloated problems are easier to mask.
Windows 8? It's just a symptom.