yaosio t1_j5g2lhg wrote
Reply to comment by crash41301 in Area 120, Google's in-house incubator, severely impacted by Alphabet mass layoffs by Last-Caterpillar-112
It's interesting how different Google and Microsoft do things. Google kills off popular software and hardware for no apparent reason very fast. Microsoft keeps unpopular software and hardware running until the last person to use it turns into fossil fuel for the next intelligent species. I bet somewhere deep in the underdark there's a greybeard updating DOS, just hoping to get the call that they need it.
crash41301 t1_j5g35am wrote
Too funny, and not wrong!
One is hyper focused on business software and the enterprise, which likely drives that keep it forever mentality. Businesses like stability and like not having to redo things for no benefit.
Google.. I'm not sure. Makes tons of money on a few wildly successful products and seems to let the organization decide on its own otherwise with incentives for new products far outstripping incentives to be a maintainer.
Loovian t1_j5iftwj wrote
Google is an advertising company first and foremost
Lumiafan t1_j5h7xe6 wrote
Let's see...
Windows Phone, Zune, Groove Music (formerly Zune), Kinect, Silverlight, Microsoft Band
These are just some of the big things Microsoft nixed in the last decade.
The old enterprise software they keep alive for years and years is generally only alive because enterprises are paying Microsoft hefty fees to do so. There's a reason why support Windows 3.1 for embedded systems ended in 2008.
Meta_My_Data t1_j5hma60 wrote
To be fair, that stuff was totally rejected by the market and essentially dead. Even Microsoft has some shame.
Lumiafan t1_j5hryxa wrote
Absolutely, but the point I'm trying to make is that both Google and Microsoft cut product lines that have no viable path to profitability.
Meta_My_Data t1_j5jbqio wrote
Yes, that’s true. I think the difference is that Google tried a lot more things and really made experimentation a part of their overall culture. MS is generally more traditional in making bigger bets on a smaller product portfolio that is more “top down” driven.
ericneo3 t1_j5jpqla wrote
> Microsoft keeps unpopular software and hardware running
It's too bad Microsoft cannot get the basics of what people want in a cellphone or a portable x86 laptop/tablet.
I cannot count the number of times they bungled the surface line by continually refusing to put a 5G modem in the thing. Now Lenovo and Dell have their business and consumer customers locked down.
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