In 2003 Joel of Joel on Software predicted that Microsoft was in big trouble since developers in increasing numbers are not programming to the Win32 APIs. Win32 APIS are what most Windows programmers, beginning Windows 3.1 , based their applications on. If you wanted to create a Windows application you had to learn Win32 APIs. The reason Linux desktop and Mac have had such tough time against Windows is because of hundreds of thousands of applications written for the Win32 Apis. These applications cannot be easily ported to other operating systems. In essence Microsoft has had a architecture lock-in and thus a monopoly. But the cracks in Microsoft's armor are starting to appear.
With more and more developers and customers opting for Web based solutions, the need for developing applications on Windows is getting confined to niche applications in the Enterprise.
The Web is very different than traditional desktop application programming. None of the core architectural pieces such as HTML, CSS, XML, JavaScript, etc. are not owned by any one but belong to the community as a whole. MS had one chance to monopolize these standards when it owned 97% of the browser market share. Unfortunately the MBAs at MS went to sleep and let Mozilla change the game. Mozilla now has 20% market share and a serious contender. In essence the desktop is becoming more irrelevant.
Take the case and point of Silverlight- the flagship Internet technology from MS. The Flash competitor now not only has to support Internet Explorer but other open source browsers such as Mozilla, Safari and Opera. Amazing for a company that just a few years ago declared Open Source evil. It is also behind in other core Internet technology areas such as search, social networks, web enabled mobile devices and web based business applications.
The people at Redmond just don't get. They have hung on to their desktop software model too long and missed the boat.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment