Hi guys!
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firstly, I am quite sick and have been for a couple of months, I have been focusing more on my OH and trying to feel better. We've been trying to get her here to Scotland and that is still going on :)..if I am sporadic in posting, please grant me grace. thank you.
now, on with the article...
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How do you 'build a brand'?
MS is King at this.. there is no other company with such success in the whole world (Sony, Apple and oil companies coming in close after)..
how do MS do it??
Quick answer: they 'short sell' at a loss. not directly to consumers.. but to OEM's with their OEMAct licences for Windows, in fact its a little like a ponzi scheme, but no one loses, the bottom rung has the most benefit. everyone wins! however MS is hugely benefited in the indocturine stage.. someone who uses windows when young will probably use when old.. and that lends major clout to a company.. if you can say to potential investors, 'We're going to be around for another 60 years' and MEAN it that's 1. impressive 2. prooveable 3. no other software company in the world has such a chance for that to become fact.. even Apple with the super fancy iPhone and OSX iOS and a reference to the Tree of Knowledge (it was actually a fig not an apple..but we get the point)..then yes is the resounding answer from investors, being able to claim longevity in an industry where they have seen so many companies die and it be PLAUSIBLE is a feat in itself.
and... Apple never short sell. they provide the longest support of all the companies or have done so far, and MS do support via compatibility, but Apple give a 10 year full life cycle for products and even a 6 year half-life, compared to MS's half-life 4 years and full life of 8.
Oranges..
This is all an alien planet to Ubuntu fans.. the open market is in no way *practically* the same. the Linux Companies ie Canonical, exist on person to person interaction, a few websites and mostly video sites, which every video posted could seen as an advert for their OS. grassroots.
and of course, the great big jelly beanstalk in the sky that is Android! :)
Without XP OEMAct on PC's MS would have DIED dragging their heels on DX9 for 8 years..they didn't even use DX10 on their own consoles. But somehow they survived.. not just survived managed to stay relatively stable AND increase brand growth-age.. wow!
These days with win8 they have learned to short sell.. you can pick up the top consumer version for around £50.. that's smart ..and beneficial to end users.
Congratz to MS for nearly 40 years in the Biz!
peace
Dava
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note: I am MS neutral.. pro-Linux/Ubuntu.. although to quote the TARDIS 'you're like 14 year old trying to repair a motorbike in his bedroom'.. pro-Apple but with some grievances.
The first of January 2015.. will be MS's 40th anniversary of being founded.
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