Post rationalised nonsense. Microsoft's problem has always been, and always will be, that's it never had an original idea, it's never understood why it's doing the things it does. It got lucky with Windows which has always been a shoddy product. Microsoft is no different now to what it was when Windows launched.
Put simply, Microsoft isn't a very good company. It's a blip on what is at present a very short timeline.
This is just ridiculous. Microsoft is a powerful company that has simply foundered, like many before it. They've just never been able to understand (at a corporate level) the changing forces of the software industry. They remain entrenched (perhaps rightfully so) in Windows, which firmly anchors them in the PC era.
Comparatively, Apple has embraced the post-PC era, and has reinvented themselves as a consumer electronics company. Remember that in the late 90s, Apple was trying to make it as a PC manufacturer as well, and only at the brink of failure were they able to recognize that they had to pivot. Microsoft still makes too much money via the PC-oriented Windows-based business model, so they haven't been forced to reinvent themselves.
Also, for the installed hardware base, Windows is and has always been the most consumer-friendly operating system on the market. It's certainly not perfect, and it might not suit power users, but it more than serves its purpose.
>Also, for the installed hardware base, Windows is and has always been the most consumer-friendly operating system on the market. It's certainly not perfect, and it might not suit power users, but it more than serves its purpose.
I'm going to disagree with this on the base that "A generation has primarily grown up using it" does not necessarily means "consumer-friendly". Not to say that Mac or Linux or Plan9 or iOS whatever is objectively better (although I think iOS would give it a run for it's money, from personal anecdotes regarding computer-unsavvy people), but if you had a generation that grew up running primarily Mac at home, at school, and so forth you'd be calling that the consumer-friendly OS.
The key phrase is "for the installed hardware base," by which I mean the different hardware configurations Windows can support. OSX is the most usable OS hands-down in my estimation, but it can only be used (by non-enthusiasts) on Macs.
Put simply, Microsoft isn't a very good company. It's a blip on what is at present a very short timeline.