Joe Corbett is FedScoop’s senior director of innovation.
Love it or hate it, Microsoft is one of the most recognizable and important tech companies on the planet, but for the last five years or so, consumer sales figures have indicated Microsoft has lost its mojo with maybe the one exception being its Xbox division.
According to sales figures, the original Surface performed poorly, with the Surface 2 only doing marginally better. So far, there hasn’t been much news to indicate the Surface line is going to do anything of note coming into the new year.
I’m a bit of an Apple fanboy, so you might think I find this to be predictable or even a bit funny, but you’re wrong. When the original Surface was revealed for the first time, I was excited about what it meant for Microsoft’s future. The point is, being a “nerd” means any new shiny object that pushes the envelope of what’s possible in consumer electronics is going to get my attention. And while I didn’t plan on buying a Surface, I thought at least its very presence would force Apple to push the limits of its own products, which would benefit all of us.
Well, that’s not going to happen, because you people won’t buy it. Yes, “you people.” You people who hate Apple and love your PCs, but for some reason not Microsoft.
You are the problem with Microsoft. You’re not ready for the “edgy” UX/UI that comes with a radically designed product like what the Surface and Windows 8.1 offer. You’re boring. You like IE 7, possibly 8 at best. And if Microsoft misses the mark just a bit, you let the company know by sticking to Windows XP and complaining about how everything needs to be backward compatible because you refuse to join the rest of us in the future.
Users like you are holding back one of the most successful tech companies on the planet. A company can innovate until the end of time, but if its users can’t follow where the company is going, then it just won’t work. I understand there are drawbacks with being a fanboy like me, but it has to be better than being a curmudgeon who cannot be pleased.
Do yourself a favor and help out Microsoft; try approaching its products and services with an open mind. Just let yourself evolve a little bit as a user — you might find a little bit more satisfaction in being a PC.
