'In the 40s, 50s, and 60s, Sears had it nailed. It was top-notch, but now it’s just a barren wasteland. And that’s Microsoft. The company just isn’t cool anymore.'
Microsoft once was cool. It might be difficult to imagine, but from the time PC's came out with DOS through to MS Windows, you really could do interesting things on commodity hardware with their great tools and large user market.
It was obvious to me that MS lost it's cool as the Internet gathered steam at the time the Web was born. Doing Post-grad I couldn't help but laugh, to connect to the Internet using Microsoft operating systems you needed a vital component [0] from a lone programmer from Tasmania. How did that happen? How did MS miss the tidal wave we now call the Web?
"Open access to the World Wide Web was
not originally included in the classic
MSN service at the time of its initial
launch"
Toys like the Internet simply didn't register to the like of Microsoft. Gates even tried to tame it - remember 'The Microsoft Network?' [1] MS missed the Internet and the Web because of this need for control. Lesson learned: No matter how hard you try, networks can't be fully controlled or contained. You can't tame the beast.
Microsoft once was cool. It might be difficult to imagine, but from the time PC's came out with DOS through to MS Windows, you really could do interesting things on commodity hardware with their great tools and large user market.
It was obvious to me that MS lost it's cool as the Internet gathered steam at the time the Web was born. Doing Post-grad I couldn't help but laugh, to connect to the Internet using Microsoft operating systems you needed a vital component [0] from a lone programmer from Tasmania. How did that happen? How did MS miss the tidal wave we now call the Web?
Toys like the Internet simply didn't register to the like of Microsoft. Gates even tried to tame it - remember 'The Microsoft Network?' [1] MS missed the Internet and the Web because of this need for control. Lesson learned: No matter how hard you try, networks can't be fully controlled or contained. You can't tame the beast.[0] Winsock built by Peter Tattam owner of Tattam Software a small Tasmanian software company. Used Trumpet & didn't pay? You can here ~ http://trumpet.com.au/index.php/news/3-latest-news/17-mar-20...
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft_Network#MSN_Classic