40 Billion to spend? | The Coffeehouse

jamie

"I wouldn't be surprised to see Microsoft going on a buying spree to buy some of the things they thought they might be getting from Yahoo," said Gartner analyst Allen Weiner. "I think they'll look seriously at some of the significant Web 2.0 companies and what they might add to the Microsoft label."

http://www.news.com/8301-13860_3-9935120-56.html

who would you recommend?

edit: i wouldnt buy anything except some design companies - but id:

- launch windows.com
- launch an MS branded PC
- remove UAC, WGA, DRM, from win7 and have home, biz and server only - apologize publicly -
and lower retail prices by 30%
- get new advertising company
- relaunch microsoft.com for consumers (move current site to enterprise.microsoft.com)
- get an xphone out
- kill branding for live, zune, soapbox and mobile
- rip off facebook and wordpress to replace spaces
- 5 gig free ftp (not just backup)

Bass
Channel 9, best used in moderation

- launch windows.com

What is wrong with MSN.com?

- launch an MS branded PC

If there was any good way to piss off the biggest of Microsoft's customers, this would be the way. Who are Microsoft's biggest customers? Dell, HP, Gateway, etc. OEMs.

- remove UAC, WGA, DRM, from win7 and have home, biz and server only

I agree, especially removing of the WGA and DRM.

- apologize publicly - and lower retail prices by 30%

Other then apologize publically, they did already lower retail prices by around 30%. You want them to do it again?

- get new advertising company

There is not many left to buy. Google and Yahoo, and doesn't look like MSFT can buy either.

- relaunch microsoft.com for consumers (move current site to enterprise.microsoft.com)

Microsoft's name is already too tainted to make it a good consumer brand. Hence the Zune and Xbox marketing often missing the parent company.

- get an xphone out

If there was any good way to piss off the biggest of Microsoft's Windows Mobile customers, that is it. But they will probably do this anyway.

- kill branding for live, zune, soapbox and mobile

Kill all there good branding? This makes no sense.

- rip off facebook and wordpress to replace spaces

Or just make spaces not suck. It isn't as hard.

- 5 gig free ftp (not just backup)

How will this make them money?

GoddersUK
I CAN has cheezburger and you CAN'T has stop me!

Bass wrote:
- get new advertising company
There is not many left to buy. Google and Yahoo, and doesn't look like MSFT can buy either.

I think he means to make their adverts, not to sell advertising space on websites.

Sven Groot
My name has 9 letters. Coincidence? I think not...

Jamie, you are aware I hope that posting the same ideas here over and over again doesn't make them any less bad? You'd bankrupt MS in a week. Tongue Out

I do agree with the removal of WGA (which is pointless), reducing the number of editions of Windows, and getting better advertising. The rest is pretty stupid.

W3bbo
The Master of Baiters

Sven Groot wrote:

Jamie, you are aware I hope that posting the same ideas here over and over again doesn't make them any less bad? You'd bankrupt MS in a week.

I do agree with the removal of WGA (which is pointless), reducing the number of editions of Windows, and getting better advertising. The rest is pretty stupid.

I'd get Microsoft to hiring more experienced UX designers and a team of pedants to sort out every little thing that isn't "just right".

...like the Vista start menu in Classic mode. Now honestly, what is with that?

Bas
It finds lightbulbs.

I thought they were going to take out a loan if the Yahoo deal went through? Now that the deal is off, that'd mean they won't take out the loan and don't have the actual 40 billion to spend, but less.

Which is probably still a lot.

I don't particularly care about what else they're going to buy now. I'd basically be happy if they pumped the rest of the money into Windows and Mesh.

jamie wrote:

- remove UAC, WGA, DRM, from win7 and have home, biz and server only - apologize publicly -

Yeah, cool, let's make Windows less safe and make sure that people can't play some of the movies they purchased on it. That'd be a great idea.

W3bbo wrote:
a team of pedants to sort out every little thing that isn't "just right".

Sounds good. If I don't see a single Windows 9x style dialog in Windows 7, then I'll know that it was money well spent.

GoddersUK
I CAN has cheezburger and you CAN'T has stop me!

Bas wrote:
Sounds good. If I don't see a single Windows 9x style dialog in Windows 7, then I'll know that it was money well spent.

There should be a special connect group just for reporting renegade 9x style icons and dialogues. They annoy me so much.

Cybermagellan
Live for nothing, or die for everything

GoddersUK wrote:

Bas wrote:Sounds good. If I don't see a single Windows 9x style dialog in Windows 7, then I'll know that it was money well spent.

There should be a special connect group just for reporting renegade 9x style icons and dialogues. They annoy me so much.

Just waking up.....but

Replace company WHERE Yahoo!, AOL

W3bbo
The Master of Baiters

GoddersUK wrote:

Bas wrote:Sounds good. If I don't see a single Windows 9x style dialog in Windows 7, then I'll know that it was money well spent.

There should be a special connect group just for reporting renegade 9x style icons and dialogues. They annoy me so much.

#

Or just XP style icons. Vista has a fresh new style and for the most part I like it, it's just that there's a load of 9x (even some 3.x ones if you hunt around deep enough), 2K, and XP icons still in there.

I like the new 16x16 icons, but some of them could do with a bit of tidying up.

But until then, I'm happy with XP with XPize. Smiley

Dovella
Go Microsoft !!!!!!!

jamie wrote:
"I wouldn't be surprised to see Microsoft going on a buying spree to buy some of the things they thought they might be getting from Yahoo," said Gartner analyst Allen Weiner. "I think they'll look seriously at some of the significant Web 2.0 companies and what they might add to the Microsoft label."

http://www.news.com/8301-13860_3-9935120-56.html

who would you recommend?

edit: i wouldnt buy anything except some design companies - but id:

- launch windows.com
- launch an MS branded PC
- remove UAC, WGA, DRM, from win7 and have home, biz and server only - apologize publicly -
and lower retail prices by 30%
- get new advertising company
- relaunch microsoft.com for consumers (move current site to enterprise.microsoft.com)
- get an xphone out
- kill branding for live, zune, soapbox and mobile
- rip off facebook and wordpress to replace spaces
- 5 gig free ftp (not just backup)

take all the best developers yahoo paying 20% more

LaBomba
Summer

SPAM!!!

intelman

Yeah, SPAM.

YearOfTheLinuxDesktop
Seven of Niner! Resistance is Futile!

jamie wrote:
that would be a mountain of spam. (for 40bil)

..guess you couldnt come up with anything else.

I say 200,000,000 motherboards with nvidia chipsets to keep nvidia busy avoiding any of those evil motherboards reaching the market.

JoshRoss
A righteous infliction of retribution manifested by an appropriate agent.

I would take a 100 million of that 40GD bucket and create a bunch of X-Prize like contests for the default Windows 7 applications. Smaller applications like notepad could have a bounty like $200,000 while larger apps like sound edit could get $1,000,000-to $2,000,000.

wisemx
Live it

Microsoft has done the Developer dance.
Remember the move at Borland?
Then in Jan 2003 Borland became the first to license .NET from Msft.
Many of those previous Borland developers are on the .NET team.
Ooh Rah Big Smile

TimWoodland

Isn't this basically the same post as:

http://channel9.msdn.com/ShowPost.aspx?PostID=384392

And in some ways this:

http://channel9.msdn.com/ShowPost.aspx?PostID=398003

Ironically all by the same author?

I know I don't post alot, but in a large way, this is why, a lot of things here have become so repetitive.

LaBomba
Summer

If I recall correctly he originally put forth 1 billion and now he's upped it to 40 billion. Designers don't make good CEO's, apparently Tongue Out

cropcircles
who needs sidebars and virtual folders anyway.

I think MS should do some info commercials with the 50 Billion and do some Vista demos on stage with one guy pitching with an Australain accent doing non stop sidebar and picture accordian shows. Opening and closing, opening and closing. And then tell the viewers how fast they are selling and do a 2 for 1 to see how many they can sell.

blowdart
Peek-a-boo

jamie wrote:

- remove UAC, WGA, DRM, from win7 and have home, biz and server only

This again? So you want an OS with no capability to play DVDs?

Ion Todirel
buuu

hey Jamie what's your native language? sometimes I just cannot follow your logic, like when I'm reading Dovella's posts...........

Dovella
Go Microsoft !!!!!!!

Ion Todirel wrote:
hey Jamie what's your native language? sometimes I just cannot follow your logic, like when I'm reading Dovella's posts...........

interoperability men

W3bbo
The Master of Baiters

blowdart wrote:

jamie wrote:
- remove UAC, WGA, DRM, from win7 and have home, biz and server only

This again? So you want an OS with no capability to play DVDs?

You can play DVDs without DRM, example: Linux.

Unless you mean the DRM decryptors, then sure. Just don't honor any DRM policies like downsampling to digital output or encrypting RAM.

jl235

They should use the money to build an army of giant robots with lasers for eyes. Then Microsoft could destroy Google.

Ion Todirel
buuu

Dovella wrote:

Ion Todirel wrote:hey Jamie what's your native language? sometimes I just cannot follow your logic, like when I'm reading Dovella's posts...........

interoperability men

One man
Two men

Ray6

If Microsoft removes DRM from Windows, then how will I play Blu-Ray disks?