As important, relevant and grandiose as a company is, it can make a lot of mistakes during its trajectory and that’s part of it, isn’t it? Despite being one of the world’s largest technology developers, Microsoft committed some gaffes during its market years.
It’s 47 years since Bill Gates and Paul Allen founded the company, and it would be virtually impossible for the company to go through nearly five decades unscathed by mistakes and failures.
In this article, we will recall what were the two biggest missteps of the company in all these years of operation. So if you’re a curious one and love this kind of list, stay with us so you don’t lose any information.
Remembering that nothing that is said here diminishes the importance and merit that Microsoft has, since it is one of the responsible for the development of the most used operating system in the world: Windows. Proof of this, is that the company dominates the market with great slack in front of its competitors. The percentage reached 80% in 2014.
Windows Vista
Not everything is flowers for the most famous of computer operating systems. The system came with the thankless mission of replacing the most successful and remembered ever made by Microsoft: Windows XP. This caused users to create a huge expectation under his successor.
In an attempt to further leverage expectations and try to boost a future sale, Steve Ballmer, Microsoft’s longest-distance president, said with all the lyrics that Windows Vista was the biggest “major release in
software history,” which unfortunately came nowhere near being realized.
It’s true that Vista has had many security improvements for the device compared to XP, but Microsoft’s constant delays have caused the software to take time to get to the shelves.
Windows Vista didn’t fool anyone. As soon as it began to be sold, users around the world realized that it was not possible to use more outdated applications and programs, given the lack of functionality of these in the updated operating system.
In addition, the system was extremely cburdened and required a lot of computers that at the time were not as developed. The fiasco was so much that the company accelerated the process of creating its new SO: Windows 7. This was also because many users continued to use Windows XP, as the new update did not work correctly.
It was left for Microsoft to accept the total fiasco that was the system and turn the page to Windows 7.
Microsoft Kin
Let’s face it, Microsoft was never able to make good phones, regardless of the decade or technology that was being used at the time of manufacturing.
Windows Mobile was a total failure and the U.S. developer came to the conclusion that the unavailability of access to social networks that the device had, was the main factor for such a lack of success with the product.
Kin was the complete opposite in this area, since all its functioning, formed and public, were focused on social networks, to seek a strong appeal of the young community by mobile.
The costs to develop a technology capable of doing this at the time were exorbitant, reaching an unimaginable amount of $1 billion.
The smartphone hit store shelves around the world in 2010 and, as we quote, with a full focus on social networks such as Twitter, Facebook and the little used today, MySpace, which was extremely popular at the time of launch.
Despite a lot of effort, spending on advertising and two years of development, unfortunately the phone did not come close to placating, much because of its design that did not please users and also the lack of support for applications that were not developed by Microsoft.
Stranded in the shops, it was discontinued after only 48 days in stores, causing an exorbitant loss to the multinational’s coffers.
