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Old 01-14-2005, 12:06 AM   #1
nuka_t
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No Alternative to MS?


i was just reading this article http://slate.msn.com/id/2112272/ on slate. the article as a whole is not what i want to point out, but the part about microsoft.

Quote:
How is it that one of the most quintessentially American companies, Microsoft (for a few more hours the parent company of Slate), remains squarely in the insulated quadrant? "People found Microsoft extremely American, but they won't avoid it because there's little alternative out there," said Pick. (It's good to be a near-monopoly.)
you need to read the rest of the article to know what they are talking about in terms of "americaness"

and before you say that slate is one-sided because it is owned by MS, i know that a few of the editors use macs, no linux users though AFAIK.
 
Old 01-14-2005, 12:39 AM   #2
vharishankar
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Like the article says, the truly global companies are the ones that are "globalised locally" that is, adapt to the local conditions in different parts of the world.

The companies that stay rigid in their notions and cultural settings are the ones that won't appeal to a global audience.
 
Old 01-14-2005, 12:55 AM   #3
nuka_t
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good point.

heres an article about MS's future efforts at localization by good ol' paul thurrott. http://winsupersite.com/showcase/win...er_edition.asp
 
Old 01-14-2005, 01:04 AM   #4
vharishankar
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It's not so much the products that these companies produce but also their PR and relations with the people and the governments. I look at it from that point of view.

Adapting a product to local conditions is just one step. An equally important step is to provide employment to local population and also develop cordial relationship with the government on one level and the local market-place on another level.

That way, the global companies that have partnerships with the local industries are the ones that are most likely to succeed. Many Auto giants in the world are today well known only because they succeeded in tying up with the local industries in the different countries.

That way, I think the auto companies are the best at adapting to local conditions. Think of all those brand names that have become popular all over the world: Ford, BMW, Mercedes, GM and so on and you'll get a fair idea.

It's all about good PR and a good, clean image.
 
Old 01-14-2005, 01:39 AM   #5
nuka_t
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i dont think MS has a good clean image, especially in western europe where the poll was conducted. the only relations ms has had with the governemnts has been in hte form of lawsuits.

about the cars, that is true. i just recently found out that GM owns opel, which i thought was a european car company. honda has their own american division that might as well be a completely different company. BMW cant even sell their SUV's in europe because of the high emmisions ive heard.

and most cars, american or otherwise, vary from region to region. in japan, its the small box-shaped cars. in europe they have the small coupes and in america we have the giant polluting wasteful SUV's, trucks, vans and luxury sedans. all these could be made by the same company.
 
Old 01-14-2005, 01:46 AM   #6
vharishankar
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It is also the local economies that contribute a lot to Microsoft's development around the world. Today, Microsoft can exist comfortably in India only because of the existence and support of companies like Infosys, TCS, Polaris and so on that allow Microsoft to have a market here.

Microsoft has a very insignificant share in the home/desktop market in India. (and as such, most home users have pirated copies of Windows and care two hoots about Microsoft's anti-piracy ravings). Microsoft can only survive in India with the support of their enterprise market which covers their server software like IIS, Windows 2003 server, MS-SQL Server and so on.

If at least 50% of all Indian IT companies started shunning Microsoft and embracing open-source technologies, then Microsoft's presence in India will decrease significantly.

Sadly, I doubt whether that will happen in the near future. Most of the work that is done by the local Indian IT companies are tied to Microsoft's technologies and systems.
 
Old 01-14-2005, 12:32 PM   #7
Genesee
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Re: No Alternative to MS?

Quote:
Originally posted by nuka_t

and before you say that slate is one-sided because it is owned by MS, i know that a few of the editors use macs, no linux users though AFAIK.
just fyi:


Washington Post Buys Microsoft's Webzine
By Howard Kurtz
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, December 22, 2004; Page C01

The Washington Post Co. said yesterday it is buying Slate in an effort to boost the media company's online traffic but does not plan any editorial changes at the eight-year-old Web magazine.

In announcing a deal to acquire Slate from Microsoft Corp. for an undisclosed sum, said to be in the millions of dollars, Post executives said they would keep Jacob Weisberg as editor and most of the 30-person staff.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp...nguage=printer
 
  


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