tianxa54
04-08-2011, 07:26 PM
The headlines on Microsoft;s fiscal 2008 3rd quarter earnings were all over the map this week — with claims that Microsoft beat expectations, to Microsoft fell far short of the mark. The one consensus, however,Windows 7 Home Premium Key (http://www.key-windows-7.de/), was that Windows client and Office,Windows 7 Activation Key (http://www.windows7-key.in/), Microsoft;s two biggest cash cows, weren;t the robust bottom-line contributors that they usually are.It;s a little deceiving comparing the 2007 and 2008 3rd quarters, as Microsoft launched Windows Vista and Office 2007 (http://www.office-2007-key.co.uk) in January 2007,Windows 7 Home Basic (http://www.windows7key.ca/), making for a strong FY 2007 Q3 for those two products.Anonymous blogger MSFTextrememakeover captured Windows client;s less-than-stellar quarter in a nutshell:“Again looking quickly,Office Pro Plus 2010 Key (http://www.office-2010-key.co.uk/), Client sucked. And it seems to be not just the technology guarantee impact but also anemic OEM growth. The .ppt brags about the same 140M Vista licenses sold that we;ve been hearing about for a while now. So clearly there;s been no acceleration wrt installed base upgrades either. Surprise! Not. MBD (Microsoft Business Division) was also weak. I haven;t delved further to figure out why. Server put in a strong showing as per usual. Kudos to that group at least. And E&D managed to eke out a paper profit (as long as you ignore intra-group transfers and the convenient “Corporate-level activity” bucket).”Some are speculating that Apple;s gains are directly translatable into Microsoft;s weak Windows; sales. I;m not buying that one. While Microsoft is spending a lot further dollars and cycles worrying about Apple;s halo-effect successes in the consumer world, Apple still is a non-factor in the business market — which is where Microsoft makes the lion;s share of its Windows/Office revenues.I;d be significantly more inclined to agree with MSFTextrememakeover, who speculated that a higher-than-expected XP vs. Vista mix could be one of the culprits for Windows client;s poor showing:“I;m going with IDC and guessing a mix shift back to lower priced/lower margin XP and towards Linux in UMPCs (ultra-mobile PCs) and emerging markets is what is really responsible for the miss - which is even more concerning.”On the Office front,Office 2010 Keygen (http://www.key-office-2010.de/), given that a number of market watchers have been impressed with Office 2007 (http://www.microsoftoffice2007key.net)/SharePoint Server 2007;s strong sales, it;s less clear-cut regarding what;s dragging that division;s sales downward.I can;t help but wonder if the lackluster Windows/Office results also can be attributed to Microsoft brass;s complete and crazy obsession with Google (and taking more than Yahoo) has resulted in no one minding the Windows store. Kevin Johnson, the head of Microsoft;s Platforms & Services division seems to be so laser-focused on the online-ad business these days that he almost seems to have forgotten Microsoft is still in the software business, too.Microsoft execs; claims about walking away from the Yahoo deal are nothing in excess of bluster. A protracted hostile takeover bid is just going to distract not just employees in Microsoft;s online services business, but company management, too. It;s not a pretty picture.