

Microsoft lost half a billion on the web last quarter - vaksel
http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/01/22/microsoft-lost-nearly-500-million-on-the-web-last-quarter/

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mixmax
Microsoft just doesn't get the web.

Their servers crash from the expectable load when windows 7 is released for
download, they can't seem to streamline or synergise any of their web
properties, and frankly most of it is simply bad or broken. Just yesterday I
sent an application to them and got a server fault after having spent 30
minutes filling in a badly designed form. I sent them a mail and haven't heard
anything back. Not that I expected to.

Even their main site, microsoft.com, is broken. The menu is off by a few
pixels. Even in IE.

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jwesley
And why should they get the web better than any other bunch of middle-aged
business guys? Microsoft is a desktop software company, the web isn't in their
DNA. The web is a threat to kill their primary revenue streams!

Goes to show that realizing there is a lot of opportunity somewhere and
throwing an obscene amount of money at it is not enough to succeed.

~~~
nailer
Microsoft's existing management shouldn't get the web, but they should be
smart enough to hire people that do. Why is running, say, Django or Rails or
any other web framework so difficult on Windows?

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patrickg-zill
They had some kind of cashback deal involving LiveSearch (is that what they
call it) and eBay. Up to 20% off, $200 maximum or something like that.

People were signing up for it, buying gold or silver coins in the amount of
about $1000, then getting $200 back. They were able to buy gold and silver for
far less than the going spot price.

I am not exactly sure how that increased Microsoft's mindshare or their
eventual bottom line; but it sure made a lot of gold and silver buyers happy.

~~~
eru
Shoudn't those LiveSearchers bid each other up until they hit spotprice +
200$?

