You Create, We Dominate!!!
Déjà vu.
Microsoft has done it again.
In traditional fashion, Microsoft has entered the latest communications technology/ IT-accessory market - late. In this case it is the portable media players [e.g. Apple Computer's ipod] market. Not only are they late but 5 years late! On Thursday September 14, 2006, Microsoft held a press conference in Redmond - Washington to released official details of its Zune Player. That is 5 years behind Apple Computers who announced their ipod - then only a portable audio player - which hit the shops October 23rd 2001. I remember during the dot.com boom of the early 90’s, when it was all about getting there first. For the gravity-defying Microsoft Corporation, such laws do not apply. In fact Microsoft never strives [and does not need to] to be there first, just come out with something and if it becomes popular, Microsoft comes in. What seems very unfair about Microsoft joining any race is that with its humongous software market dominance - you are sure as hell they [Microsoft] will take over any race! As far as I can see, it will soon be all about Zunes and not ipods! Microsoft need not have a creativity department up at Redmond. Their logo should read - you create, we dominate!
The last 25 years has seen many examples of Microsoft mastering this act of “overtaking from behind“. I clearly remember 4 other cases in addition to the arrival of Zune.
Operating Systems: Some - if not all - of you know how Microsoft stole the show from IBM. Not even UNIX - popular with servers and work stations back in the day - could stop the almighty Microsoft. In the 60’s it was almost all mainframes out there and they were looked after by IBM. When the pendulum started swinging towards PCs, Digital Research came up with an operating system called CP/M. This [CP/M] was then cloned by Microsoft to create MS-DOS. MS-DOS was then chosen by IBM for their PCs. IBM happened to be the market leader in PCs and did not bother to develop an Operating System of their own. Microsoft - with the help of MS-DOS - then went on to dominate the Operating Systems market - leadership of which they have maintained till today. With IBM leading in PC hardware market share, leading the Operating System market should have been a given. They tried a few times - with the production of OS/2 which did nothing close to realising its objective of competing with Microsoft - when they realised how stupid it looked to offer Microsoft market-dominance on a platter.
Search Engines: In 1993 - 1995, the main web browser out there was Netscape. It had huge market share due to the fact that it had - at the time - new HTML capabilities in the form of “extensions” that placed it a step in front of all other browsers in terms of capability. Since these capabilities were often flashier than what other run-of-the-mill browsers could produce, Netscape’s browser helped cement their dominance. By the summer of 1995, it was a good bet that if you were browsing the Internet, you were doing so with a Netscape browser - by some accounts Netscape had as much as an 80%+ market share. But with the launch of Microsoft’s Window 95 came Internet Explorer in August 95. Microsoft at first did not fancy the getting into the web browser market but changed its mind when the internet proved to be the next big thing. Internet Explorer played catch-up initially while Netscape remained ahead due to its superiority technically. Technical superiority never was Microsoft’s strong point. It had other strong points - IE was bungled onto its Operating System - Windows 95 - free of charge and everybody had Windows 95. During the 95-96 period, they were neck and neck in terms of market share with Netscape doing all it could to stay technically superior. But slowly, Internet Explorer gained market share ground. By the fourth generations of both browsers, Internet Explorer had caught up technologically with Netscape’s browser. As time went on, Netscape’s market share diminished from its once-towering percentages. By 1998 Netscape announced its browser will be free but that did not make a difference. Internet Explorer trounced Netscape from then on only to be over taken by the new almighty search engine - Google.
Media Player: In April 1995, RealAudio 1.0 was launched. Then in 1997 Real Video was launched as part of RealPlayer 4. In the streaming video market at the time - it was all about Real Networks. All this time Microsoft was not even in the streaming video market. Microsoft got in June 1998 and now where is real payer?
Word Processors. As far back as 1982 when WordPerfect was launched, it would remain the defacto standard word processor of the 80’s and 90,s till being eclipsed by Microsoft Word. No surprise there. Market share and being bundled-up with Microsoft Windows is a formula that always guarantees success for Microsoft.
Portable Media Players. As you have been grounded in the ethos of Microsoft, you can now see why I believe that with Microsoft in the race that ipods are doomed. The very idea of a portable media player came from Apple when they thought of a launching their own digital music player considering the poor quality available in the market at the time. They came out with their first ipod, a 5GB Mac-compatible MP3 player that could put “1000 songs in your pocket”. That was in October 2001. Apple went out of its way to manufacture a very capable digital audio player that is very easy to use hence the design. Then in July 2002 it launched its 10 and 20GB ipod. In April 2003 came the dock-connectible 10, 20, 30 and 40GB ipod. In July 2004 came the 20, 30, 40 and 60GB photo ipod. Then in October 2005 came the 30 and 60GB Video ipod and in September 2006 came the enhanced 30 and 80GB video ipod. All these are in addition to the nano and mini ipods simultaneously.
Then comes Microsoft in September 2006 with its launch its own portable digital media player - Zune. In an already advanced market, Microsoft butts in with intimidating confidence. This Zune thing is a 4.4 x 2.4 x 0.58 inch device with a 30GB hard drive. It has a 3 inch QVGA screen with an FM receiver and support H.264, MP3, WMA, MWV, MPEG4, JPG and AAC formats. Out standing! It that hot or what. It does not stop there. It has WiFi [wireless] making it able to send files from Zune to Zune. It can sync with Xbox. Its software is uppercrust. It can change wallpaper, play videos and movies, display upright or on its side [change orientation like portrait and landscape], has its own music source - Zune tags similar to itunes and also has DJing capabilities. Microsoft is also already planning two higher capacity Zune Players - a 60GB and a 100GB player next year.
With Microsoft software popularity, all Zune needs with its above market average capability [Sorry for Apple already] is a Bill Gates-fronted mega launch and ipod will bow like Real player, WordPerfect, Netscape and IBM. Did I hear you say if Google could do so could Apple? The scenario does beg the question, does it not? I hereby remind you that Google overtook Microsoft “from behind”. Apple is in front for now and as a result will suffer the same fate. The only way you win a winner like mike - Microsoft - is from behind. Even Microsoft is not invincible; you only need to creep up from behind.
When Microsoft announced their Zune, I had to shout out - Déjà vu.
In classic fashion, Microsoft is doing it again.
You create, we dominate!!!
