Microsoft's XP Fables: Success Is Failure

Windows XP, the most popular desktop operating system in history, finally has to withdraw from the stage of history after 13 years of service. On April 8, Microsoft formally ceased supporting XP services. This means that on the second Tuesday of each month, Microsoft gives Users pushing Windows Update patches will no longer appear on XP users' computers, and this lost veteran has been completely abandoned by Microsoft.

According to Microsoft, after April 8, Microsoft will no longer provide XP with new security upgrades, non-security patches, free or paid support, and online technical content updates. This means that XP is still running in the future. The computer will be more vulnerable to security risks and virus attacks.

From Microsoft's point of view, there are plenty of good reasons to terminate Windows XP service support. For example, XP has been in service for 13 years. It has not kept up with the needs of most users. Microsoft has released several generations of operating systems after XP, and legally speaking, users We also agreed to "Microsoft reserves the right to stop such services" and "any damages resulting from the use or inability to use this software, including but not limited to loss of business profits, business interruptions, loss of business information, or other monetary damages when installing XP." The resulting damage is not responsible for the terms of "such as;" Moreover, after Microsoft has left, there are third-party security software companies providing free services to XP.

But no matter how well Microsoft's reasons, the suspension of Windows XP service support has hurt the hearts of countless XP users. This operating system is so successful that even after 13 years, 10% of users around the world use it. Users do not care, those who have spent a lot of money to buy genuine, and still use the user will inevitably arrive unfair, patching the software is also a kind of after-sales service, how to stop? Is it possible to let Is it not a company's pride that users use their lives?

In terms of user loyalty, WindowsXP is Microsoft’s most successful operating system to date, but it is a failed product under Microsoft’s monopolistic market position and its business model sold under the intergenerational version. From the 1980s onwards, Microsoft and Intel form the so-called "WinTel Alliance" to attract gold in the PC market. Intel's CPU and Microsoft's operating system promote each other, constantly updating, so that users have to follow the rhythm of WinTel's constant investment budget, the two monopoly giants continue to repeatedly in the new product sales to extract huge profits.

The essence of "WinTel Alliance" is actually driving consumption through constant creation of demand.

However, the success of XP has to some extent cracked the WinTel Alliance upgrade mantra, an XP is enough to meet most of the needs of ordinary users, they do not need to put a budget for the new operating system. The more users use XP, the less new operating system users and the less money Microsoft will make. The same is true for Intel. The old generation of operating systems that users are obsessed with means that the old PCs and chips can still meet their needs, which hinders the sales of new products.

The accident of XP is not accidental. It indicates a dilemma faced by WinTel in the post-PC era. It is difficult to create strong demand to drive consumption in the original mode and environment. They cannot persuade users to operate in cpu. When the system is "enough to use" and "good enough" to invest in new budgets, WinTel has become its own biggest enemy. The success of the next generation of products is not to beat competitors, but to defeat their previous generation of products.

The better you do now, the more you fail in the future. The dilemma on XP heralds a huge loss for Microsoft after the advent of the mobile Internet era. In the era of the PC has just been flourishing, Microsoft has achieved great success with its WinTel model, but this success is not based on the user-centric foundation. But after the Internet age, the rules of the game suddenly changed. Users became the core of everything. Freedom became king, Google and Apple became the most successful technology companies. Their free operating system has replaced Microsoft's at least on mobile. Monopoly.

There is no need to criticize Microsoft for its slow transition. It is a universal truth that ship owners have to make a hard turn around, lose money when they are full, and are full of thanks. There are more than one Microsoft wrestling in front of the new era, and there are a number of old giants such as Intel, Nokia, and Kodak. The immediate question is, how will Microsoft go in the future? Does it have the courage to change its own lives?

At the developer conference in early April, Microsoft announced that future device makers based on Windows Phone and Windows systems with screen sizes smaller than 9-inch tablets will not need to pay license fees. This is a major change, but it is not a difficult decision for Microsoft because Microsoft has no market share in related devices. Does it have the courage to extend the business model changes to the PC field? This is a difficult problem. Not necessarily free, as we all know, the licensing business on traditional PCs is still a cash cow for Microsoft, but everyone knows that this model is not a future trend. Now that we are not reforming, when the building will pour, I am afraid it will be too late.