According to Canalys which counts tablets, 88 million PCs shipped in 1Q 2011. About 5 million of those were tablets. That leaves very little growth for PCs on which that other OS ships, perhaps 1-2% Y/Y. I wonder if a year or more of such lackluster growth will cause the ouster of Steve B.
Combining the effect of Barnes and Noble’s defiance of M$’s NDA-encrusted licensing offer for their Nook e-book readers, which suggests M$ will not be able to discourage the world from slurping up tablet PCs with Android. and 2011 is looking like a grim year for M$.
The monopoly is on sick-leave.
see Digitimes – Worldwide PC market up 7% as pads fuel growth, says Canalys
UPDATE M$’s report is in. Revenue for that other OS on PCs is down 4%. Worse, for M$, operating income is down 10%. Wow! That is more than the dip in PC units shipped in spite of what they write:
“Windows 7 remains the fastest selling operating system in history with 350 million licenses sold. Revenue for the segment was down 4% in the third quarter, in line with the PC trends, excluding prior year launch impact.”
They are also stuck at 350million… Isn’t that old news? Further, ARM processors are shipping in the billions. What OS is on them? I guess the dinosaur has not felt the tar on its toes yet. The fact is that personal computing is on fire, not declining. M$ is losing its grip on personal computing. Most reports that I have read state that the decline in M$’s PCs is far offset by the explosion of ARMed devices, both smartphones and tablets. People just don’t need that other OS any longer. I expect another year of declines for M$ until they can ship something on tablets that gives something competitive to Android/Linux or GNU/Linux. Consumers are not going to be put back in the bottle. They love the tiny gadgets too much.
Checking with IDC’s 1Q2011 summary of PC shipments, they report only Lenovo had good growth. They ship a lot into China but they also had good growth in the rest of the world. They do ship GNU/Linux if you insist.
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8016
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0
14332 
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7166 
2724 
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“I wonder if a year or more of such lackluster growth will cause the ouster of Steve B.”
Gee, I hope not. Steve Ballmer embodies the very soul of Microsoft. Hand picked by the soul of Microsoft itself, Bill Gates. Mad men and their deeds work best in the dark. Thanks to Barnes and Noble we now know what we couldn’t prove before; Steve Ballmer has launched Microsoft on a shakedown strategy.
I think Microsoft is killing itself. If it was willing to take its piece of the market and work with it instead of wanting it all, it could survive. But as long as it wants everything, it will continue its downward slide. That’s the soul of Microsoft; Wanting it all (Bill Gates).
“Survival” to M$ means surviving as a monopoly, able to tax every personal computing device. It’s no longer happening in 2011. 2010/2011 is the era when everything changed. They seemed to beat back the netbook but the Lilliputians are swarming all over the carcass of the beast now.
I think SCOG v World taught everyone to stand up to M$ and Barnes and Noble will get a lot of PR, a better product and with the Android updates coming to e-book readers, a competitive advantage over those who continue to use that other OS. The only worry for me is whether or not the dead wood at SCOTUS will reward anti-competitive acts/software patents. The way things go the M$ v World issues may or may not cross the finish line before SCOTUS rules.
Soon, I think we will be seeing mock funerals for Microsoft.
“Further, ARM processors are shipping in the billions. What OS is on them?”
VxWorks, same as always?
Pogon, With the bought-and-paid-for 5 on the SCOTUS I thik Waggner Edlestrum has already hosted them for a lavish weekend away….can’t cut those check directly….yet