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Thread: Bill Gates claims his ‘greatest mistake’ was not beating Android

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    #DeSantis2024 Teh One Who Knocks's Avatar
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    Oops Bill Gates claims his ‘greatest mistake’ was not beating Android

    Georgina Torbet - endgadget




    Bill Gates has spoken candidly about his regrets as the leader of Microsoft, most particularly the company's attempts to build a dominant mobile OS. As reported by The Verge, during an interview at venture capital firm Village Global, Gates said "the greatest mistake ever is whatever mismanagement I engaged in that caused Microsoft not to be what Android is."

    When the first Android handset came along in 2008, Google's mobile platform became an open alternative to the iPhone, which was released in 2007. Microsoft tried, but ultimately failed, to adapt to the competition.

    As Microsoft was the dominant force in desktop software at the time, it should have meant that the company would be a big player in mobile as well. Microsoft did have a phone platform, Windows Mobile, but it was centered on keyboard and stylus input. By the time the touch-friendly Windows Phone 7 launched in 2010, it was too late for Microsoft to gain traction. It limped along with low market share for years, until Microsoft ended support for the OS in 2017. It will end support for Windows Phone's successor, Windows 10 Mobile, later this year.



    "Android is the standard non-Apple phone platform," Gates later noted in the interview (embedded above). "That was a natural thing for Microsoft to win. It really is winner take all. If you're there with half as many apps or 90 percent as many apps, you're on your way to complete doom. There's room for exactly one."

    This wasn't Gates' fault personally, as he stepped down from his role as CEO in 2000. He continued as a part-time chairman and chief software architect for over a decade but left these roles to pursue philanthropic work.

    The CEO of Microsoft at the time, Steve Ballmer, famously laughed at the iPhone for being too expensive. Many of Microsoft's mobile failings, including its partnership with Nokia, have been pinned on him.

    Still, it's clear that Gates feels regret over the failure of Microsoft to capture the mobile market. "There's room for exactly one non-Apple operating system," he said, and pointed out that this alternative operating system was worth the equivalent of $400 billion.

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    transracial Hal-9000's Avatar
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    I just about got a MS phone at one point. If it wasn't for the blocky interface (that really looked like WIN8) I would probably be using one now.

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    #DeSantis2024 Teh One Who Knocks's Avatar
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    I don't think I've ever seen someone using a Windows phone

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    Dilly dilly Goofy's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Teh One Who Knocks View Post
    I don't think I've ever seen someone using a Windows phone
    Me neither

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    unedited FBD's Avatar
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    bill gates greatest mistake was getting in bed with the glowies and giving them their own root key certificate to win98SE

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    21-Jazz hands salute Muddy's Avatar
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    Can't win em' all, Billy. Guess you will have to settle for worlds 2nd richest man.. What a travesty that must be...

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    Shelter Dweller PorkChopSandwiches's Avatar
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    It is a big mistake on their part though, imagine the domination they would have to have 90% of the desktop/laptop and phone market






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    #DeSantis2024 Teh One Who Knocks's Avatar
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    Were Windows phones that bad? I never had one and I don't think anyone I've known has ever had one.

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    Shelter Dweller lost in melb.'s Avatar
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    Mum had one. Nice and simple buttons for an older woman

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    21-Jazz hands salute Muddy's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by PorkChopSandwiches View Post
    It is a big mistake on their part though, imagine the domination they would have to have 90% of the desktop/laptop and phone market
    Yes and I trust Bill Gates much more...

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    unedited FBD's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Muddy View Post
    Yes and I trust Bill Gates much more...
    Bill Gates and Sergey Brin are basically equally evil - and when you're in at the hardware level, Apple can boast all it wants but NSA toolkit walks right in, esp if they've got their hands on the hardware

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    Shelter Dweller PorkChopSandwiches's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Teh One Who Knocks View Post
    Were Windows phones that bad? I never had one and I don't think anyone I've known has ever had one.
    They sucked






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    Quote Originally Posted by PorkChopSandwiches View Post
    They sucked
    You can liken it to there being a fork in the road, one way points windoes, the other way points phone, so you run straight into the fence post at the fork

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