Microsoft's Biggest Hits And Flops

Hits 는 모두 사용해봤고, MS Office 는 365로 퉁친듯. Excel 은 정말 쓰면 쓸수록 기가 막힌 프로그램이다. 

갑자기 엑셀 매크로 가지고 법무사, 회계사 사무실별로 커스터마이징해서 1인 사업하던 선배형이 생각이 남. 요새도 하시나..

Flop 중 Kin 은 딱봐도 블랙베리 짝퉁같고, 

Zune 은 잘나가던 아이리버가 마이크로소프트와 손잡고 내놓은 제품을 떠올리게 한다. 

아마 아래 그림이였지. 2005년 CES 기조연설에서 게이츠가 극찬했던... 

두 회사 모두 애플을 너무너무 의식한 나머지 조급하게 밋밋한 제품을 내놓은게 아닌가 싶음. 

http://www.forbes.com/pictures/ekhf45eleme/hit-windows-xp-2001-15/

Hit: MS-DOS (1981)

MS-DOS served as the main OS for IBM PCs during the 80s to mid-90s. 

Hit: Windows 3.1 (1992)

Reaching three million sales only after two months, Windows 3.1 led us to naming Microsoft the "Most Innovative Company Operating in the U.S." that year and also sealing Microsoft's dominance as the most widely used OS for long time

Hit: Windows XP (2001)

Released in 2001, Windows XP proved popular enough to last a good decade. It was Microsoft's first mass-market OS to support Windows NT, a powerful multiprocessing, multi-user OS

Hit: Xbox (2001)

Xbox was Microsoft first entry into the competitive console market--and its first big jump into hardware. It was far from certain whether Microsoft was going to be able to compete with the likes of Sony's domination with the PlayStation 2, but the system came to become one of the major console players. Now currently on the third generation of the system with the Xbox One, it looks like Microsoft made the right decision. Still, the console business is hard to make money in. Some analysts believe Microsoft is losing $2 billion per year on the division.

Hit: Office 365 (2011)

Microsoft's Office 365 brought all the usefulness of the company's Office products to the cloud. Now you could sync up all documents on your computer to your mobile devices.

Hit: Surface (2012)

Microsoft's answer answer to Apple's iPad won mostly strong praise from tech pundits for its hardware, but continues to suffer for its limited selection of apps.

Flop: Microsoft Bob (1995)

Intended to make Windows easier to use with talking cartoon animals, Microsoft was much derided by the press and failed to attract customers.

Flop: Microsoft ME (2000)

The last Windows 9x series OS released, Microsoft ME suffered from serious stability issues.

Flop: Internet Explorer 6 (2001)

Internet Explorer 6 was the default web browser shipped with Windows XP and labeled by some as the "least secure software on the planet."

Flop: Windows Vista (2006)

Near the end of his tenure, Steve Ballmer said one of his biggest regrets was Windows Vista during his 14 years as CEO of Microsoft. Despite spending half a decade in development, the final product was an expensive, clunky mess.

Flop: Zune (2006)

Five years after Apple came out with the iPod, Microsoft tried its hand in a portable media player with Zune. Although not a complete failure, it was clear Microsoft had taken too long to release it and failed to compete with Apple in any significant way.

Flop: Kin (2010)

Microsoft's short-lived mobile phone for social networking. The home screen worked as an aggregator for all your social network accounts. Sales did not do well and the phone was quickly shelved.