Microsoft vs Apple - A Sports Analogy
June 14, 2008 – 1:58 amAnyone who watches sports can identify with this situation. One team builds a substantial lead going into the final period/quarter/whatever of the game. The last period starts and it becomes obvious that the team is no longer playing to win. They are playing not to lose. In a majority of these games the team that is behind overtakes them and ends up winning. Now let’s apply this situation to Microsoft and Apple. The funny thing is that this happened to both sides in this game.
Apple initially took an apparently insurmountable lead with the Apple II. It was the first useable PC to be sold to home users. However Apple built their hardware and software in-house and refused to license their technologies to anyone else. The Apple II was a run away success. They delivered a computer that was compact enough to sit on a desk, it was cheap enough that families could purchase one, and it had features that beat even the mini-computers being sold for hundreds of thousands of dollars. However Microsoft took another strategy, they developed their software to work on the emerging IBM compatible or clones that were being manufactured by hundreds of companies. Economies of scale drove the cost down, resulting in a cheaper computer than the Apple. Developers flocked to the platform as there was money to be made. Over time Apple’s less aggressive strategy allowed Microsoft to become the behemoth it is today and damn near killed Apple.
Flash forward twenty years and extend the sports metaphor even further. Think of your favorite team. Now think of the stars of that team say 10 years ago. Think Bird & McHale or Magic & Kareem. Now imagine that the management of their respective teams made a decision. Work with me here - I know it’s not practical - just meant to illustrate. The team decides that the pair is so popular with fans that they should keep them around indefinitely. Can you imagine Magic & Kareem playing into their late 40s? There is no way they could keep up with the younger players in the league.
This is precisely what Microsoft has done. Windows 3, 95, 98, 2000, XP and even Vista have clung to code and architectural design decisions made in the DOS era. Underneath the new jersey is a 45 year old basketball star whose body is so run down that it cannot keep up. To make matters worse it does not appear that they have learned their lesson. It has been argued that Windows Vista was pretty much a re-write of Windows, and even though all of the incompatibles it introduced would seem to support this, I remain unconvinced. Too many similarities remain. For an example see this post. Pay attention to the part where it is stated that Windows XP software will run ( maybe limp is a better choice of words ) on Vista.
My point in is this. Starting over is tough. We hang on to things for sentimental reasons, laziness, stubbornness and whole host of other reasons. It takes a lot of guts to admit you were wrong, especially for a company as successful as Microsoft. A single design flaw is all it took to sink the Titanic. We can all agree that Windows has at least one. Maybe it’s time for Microsoft to rethink their position. What they did in the past was great. Windows brought computing to the mainstream. But maybe it’s time to start over. A little company named Apple traded their team in for a new one. A look at their growth since 2000 should tell you that Apple’s new team is doing quite well.
