where did microsoft go?

[shankle]

I've done my share of complaining about Microsoft but think about this.
What would we all (as assembler programmers) do with NO Microsoft?
Linux and Wine? What a horrible thought.
Is there any company in the side lines to pick up the slack?
I would like to see, though in my lifetime,  Microsoft get it's act together.
Am, I asking to much from a monopoly?
I also think they owe us something for putting them where they are
and not screw us with things like windows 8!

[Ryan]

I think someone would step up to pick up the slack.  It's virtually impossible to compete with Microsoft.  For the people who are new to computers, Microsoft gives them one less decision they have to make when buying a computer.  Yeah, it sucks for the rest of us.

If I had to guess, I'd say that Microsoft tries to reach a new audience with each new operating system.  I don't think it's about pleasing their existing customers.  They want to expand their customer base.  Most of their existing customers will hold onto what they have as long as possible so they don't have to go through the hassle of change.

[dedndave]

no doubt - if ms wasn't there, someone else would be

as for them trying to reach a new base with each OS, i don't see it that way
they simply want more money from the same customers that bought their last OS
in fact, ms, the CPU manufacturers, and the computer manufacturers all do it in harmony

i suspect there is a lot of money involved when large companies upgrade
and - quite often, they may be forced to do so if they want to use the latest s/w and have support

[Ryan]

For people that already have computers, they aren't going to go out and buy a new OS, so I don't see how Microsoft can target them for business.

When companies buy new computers, they are buying them with an OS, regardless of which one it is (assuming it's one of Microsoft's), Microsoft will make money off the OS they choose (current or otherwise).

I guess I just find it hard to believe that Microsoft isn't trying to reach a new customer base just because of the fact that they are always changing things to the point where their current customers become frustrated immensely.  If they truly wanted to be please their existing customers, they would focus on keeping them happy.  That never seems to be the case.

[Blackmasm]

I think windows 8 is more a play for the tablet / smart device markets that are expected to grow real fast.

The windows desktop as we know it should continue on PC's, laptops, servers etc, so masm should continue to be very relevant...

Otherwise, well I'd be happy with linux. :t

[shankle]

Correct me if I am wrong.
You can't program in masm32 in Linux.
Yes I know about Wine but who want s to go that route.
It's only good for playing games IMHO.

[Vortex]

Hi shankle,

Japheth provides the Linux version of JWasm.

[shankle]

Thank you Vortex.
Had no idea. need to look into that.

[RandomUsername]

talking about jwasm, there will be new release?
know than Japheth is busy and jwasm is totally stable but a final v2.07 version would be great.

[zooba]

Couple of points:

• Some people will buy a new OS for their existing hardware (this is why Vista "failed," because not all existing hardware had support - Vista on new, supported, hardware was generally fine)
• Large organisations have the buying power to get the OS they want with new computers, or they have alternate licensing arrangements. Though they are probably where most of the profit comes from.
• Any new OS that is indistinguishable from the previous is pointless. You may as well be hated for changing something rather than changing nothing.
• Microsoft have a history of major changes between versions as opposed to minor upgrades (and distinct from updates/patches). Windows ME was probably the smallest upgrade.
• Windows 8 does not (AFAIK) provide anything new for MASM developers. The Metro APIs are all COM-based with dynamic vtables*, so a full Metro-style app will probably be too difficult. Desktop apps are equivalent to Windows 7 except for ARM-based tablets.
• MASM32 is (mostly) no good for Linux**, but there are plenty of assemblers out there that are. I believe some use Intel syntax (the same as MASM), but I couldn't name them, sorry.
• I haven't used Wine for assembly apps, but since it's only really an API layer I don't really see why you wouldn't just write for the Linux API.

Cheers,
Zooba  :t



* Dynamic in that there's no C++ header file to include. The interfaces are stored in *.winmd files in a binary format and may change from version to version.

** I expect many of the libraries would work, but the bin/, include/ and lib/ folders are not useful.

[dedndave]

i think the majority of OS sales are made when new machines are sold to individuals
so long as you can buy a new machine with win7 on it, everything will be ok
but - if/when they force win8, the problem may fix itself
people are simply not going to buy something they do not want - especially in today's economy