This post is by Michael Pollock, the original owner of Small Business Branding. Yaro Starak now owns and produces the latest content for this blog.
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Okay, not really. But I thought it would be fun to play with this. After this past week’s big announcements, new product launches and accompanying saber rattling by Bill Gates, you’d think the geniuses out in Redmond, Washington might have forgotten that little U.S. Government, anti-trust thing they dealt with a while back.
My attention was raised on Thursday thanks to a CNBC report suggesting Microsoft is out to dominate the mobile computing/cell phone market. With the release of Windows Mobile 5.0 on Tuesday, Microsoft is leading the way to a single device that pretty much does it all, combining the capabilities of a camera phone, an mp3 player and a pocket PC. One Reuters story summed it up by saying:
"Partly in response to pressure from Apple, Microsoft is now positioning
itself to be a key player in the growing market for digital movies,
pictures and music and grow beyond its core Windows operating system
business."
In an interview with the German newspaper, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, Gates took a shot at Apple by stating:
"I don’t think the success of the iPod can continue in the long term, however good Apple may be …
"I think you can draw parallels here with the computer here, too, Apple
was once extremely strong with its Macintosh and graphic user
interface, like with the iPod today, and then lost its position."
Then there’s also the very well publicized launch of the Xbox 360 video game platform. Not to mention the release of a test version of OneCare, Microsoft’s PC Health subscription service.
All that in the same week and it adds up to the type of aggressive moves that may have the suits in Washington D.C. on high(er) alert. Or not. At least the graphic is cool.