Microsoft Calling. Anyone There?

“Microsoft is totally off the radar of the cool, hip, cutting-edge software developers,” said Tim O’Reilly, who publishes a popular line of software development guides.

“And they are largely out of the consciousness of your average developer.”

The Xbox 360 gaming console and its complementary online services have been a rare hit with consumers. Still, being hip matters only so much for Microsoft, whose profits remain the envy of the business world. Microsoft’s software like Windows and Office remain the dominant standard around the world and afford the company an ability to experiment wherever it pleases.

[DontShoot-Me-Bro]

Please leave your message after the tone...beep

[RedPawn]

I don't like people playin on my phone.

[angel_from_above6986]

maybe i dont like people play n4g....

[RedPawn]

Then you need to get off the net.

[AAACE5]

Microsoft is a little lost, but it happens to every company at some point or another!

[Xx Ziyad xX]

yaaah im here ..

[Apolloeye]

Really good read actually, very insightful.

[The_Zeitgeist]

Agreed.

[Sigh]

well it is by the NYtimes... not by some amateur blog or whatever. Just saying.

[outrageous]

What I don't understand is why M$ doesn't do more to tie there Windows 7 and xbox 360 communities together. Windows is HUGE, add 40+ million 360 gamers, 25 million of which PAY a subscription fee to play on line and you have a very strong platform to launch any tech gadget off of. On paper at least the potential is staggering.

The thing about electronics is the constant change. What is relevant today may not be relevant tomorrow. In ten years time, we may say M$, whats that, or Sony who. Apple might be obsolete. It's all about the latest and greatest.

Who remembers Atari and the Sony Walkman???

[Nicaragua]

"Who remembers Atari and the Sony Walkman???"

errrm, anyone who is old enough to remember them ?

[angel_from_above6986]

i am sir.... step off momma needs you

born 2-17-80

[BeOneWithTheGun]

Er, their online is complementary? Doesn't that mean free, on the house, a gift from me to you, a perk for your devotion? Sigh, I digress.

[T9X69]

It is free....for a month.

[angel_from_above6986]

do not expect sony fantards to own both consoles......they aren't gamers...they play n4g(sony fanboys)

[mastiffchild]

No, it doesn't have to mean free. It can mean it as in "goes with", it compliments the 360.

[TomMcBaum]

Complement = "a thing that completes or brings to perfection"
Compliment = "a polite expression of praise or admiration"

[Calm Down Sunshine]

A slippery slope.

[moparful99]

Hmm the house that bill gates built (stole) is starting to deteriorate.. Maybe thats why gates cut chords and walked away..

[coolasj]

If you mean why Bill isn't CEO thats a court settlement.
If you mean why Bill doesn't show up at conferences? Maybe because he doesn't have to and probably doesn't care.

[biggame901]

Very insightful article, and points out some glaring problems with Microsoft's consumer division.

[Senden]

This article as very little to do with gaming so why is it under E3? And yeah microsoft fail in so many aspects.. the first thing they need to do is get someone in who can name their products properly.. right now everything they've made outside of windows software sound like something out of a bad scifi film... what sort of "hip" youngster when asked what phone they have wants to reply with "kin"? Don't even get me started with Zune's name.. and Natals hell even Kinect sounds stupid. I'm sure apple would agree with me too when you look at their product names are just far more catchy.. iphone, ipod, ipad simplistic yet effective as they sound sort of cool.

[mastiffchild]

MS is a funny mix of wild successes and ill advised failures atm, it seems. A lot of talk has been saying that, though the 360 is listed as a success here, that the Xbox brand s still WAY in the hole money wise and that Kinect failing to make a profit could see investors already wound up with the games division fighting to have it closed.

How true that might be as a possibility I have no idea but I've seen it talked about quite a bit by journalists, forum posters and bloggers alike at good and bad sites and god and bad magazines and papers.Whatever, it's always interesting to see what happens with a beast like MS and it does seem true that it struggles to ever appear trendy or hip in any way-which is exactly what helps Apple sell iPhones-even if, too me and many others, those things are pretty mediocre at each task they're meant to fill.

[Consoldtobots]

the M in mediocre stands for Microsoft.

[CHARLIEBROWNE]

This is ng4 calling Nil points.

[dizzleK]

this is sol, sol rosenberg. i was very injured by the rrod, my shoes and my glasses fell off and my head was bashed apart.

[jneul]

division by zero error!!

[gypsygib]

Hmm misleading article, when I hear 'complimentary' I think free, that clearly isn't the case. Anyways, MS does have one successful piece of hardware - the 360. And despite reliability issues you got to give them credit for beating last seasons champ: the PS3. Although this gen is longer than previous one so there may be a comeback.