Microsoft Flight PC teaser

Microsoft is a dying consumer brand - CNN

   A new article by a writer named David Goldman on CNN states unequivocally that "Microsoft is a dying consumer brand." That's a statement. Not a question or a theoretical postulation. David Goldman knows for a fact that "Microsoft is a dying consumer brand."

   YAWN. Microsoft will be here in the next 100 years and they'll be like Con Edison or General Electric. Once a corporation grows to become a behemoth such as Microsoft, it's very, very difficult to kill. I've read articles about the demise of Apple (yes, really, fanboys), the death of IBM, the end of "_______" over the years and none of those have come to pass. How can Microsoft be a dying consumer brand when their software is on the majority of PCs running on the planet? PCs. You know, PERSONAL COMPUTERS which are used by PERSONS. Is the future really mobile devices and only mobile devices? Doubtful. The PC is here to stay just like dishwashers and toasters. Some things are just ingrained into the civilized human experience on this planet.

   Apple reinvented itself in the past few years and Microsoft will reinvent itself when the need arises. They're still making billions from continuing operations so the urgency for change probably won't come for at least another decade or so. In closing, the death knell of MSFT won't be rung for at least another century. At least.

Finally, a good advertisement from Microsoft

I mocked the "I'm a PC" ads from Microsoft. They were unoriginal, featured weird folks, and played off the Apple "I'm a Mac" ads. The Apple ads were clean, crisp, and simple with a direct message. The "I'm a PC" ads were dumb. Just dumb. Yeah, you're a fackin' PC. Whoop-de-doo. I like this one however. Watch it:

Massive Shutdown

   I remember when Microsoft bought Massive back in 2006 and back then, I thought it was a smart deal. Google was ruling with its little text ads and advertising was on Microsoft's mind. Even if Microsoft couldn't catch Google in the online ads arena, they'd try their hand at inserting ads into videogames. Microsoft paid what appears to be $200+ million on Massive but in the four years since the acquisition, Massive's game ads have gone nowhere. EA brought in-game advertising in-house and Xbox Live took off. These two occurrences basically doomed Massive into obscurity.

   According to Mike Shields' article in MediaWeek from last week, Microsoft has shopped Massive around "seeking a high six-figure or low seven-figure deal" but no one appears to have bitten. I believe that Massive could have been big if they never sold out to Microsoft. I've seen time and again how companies with great potential that are acquired and folded into a huge corporation lose focus, lose momentum, and eventually lose everything. Add another notch to the gunbelt.