Microsoft's latest failure

You’ve probably heard, by now, of Microsoft’s entry into the crowded market of ‘iPod killers’.

Challengers to Apple’s dominance of the portable digital music player market have come and gone from manufacturers large and small, and none has yet put a dent in iPod’s market share.

You’ve probably also heard, by now, of the many reasons why Zune is doomed to failure. It’s too big and complicated. It doesn’t support Microsoft’s own ‘Plays For Sure’ initiative. It doesn’t play the wide variety of file formats the iPod does. It’s brown.

I have to say, whoever decided the thing ought to come in brown needs to sit down and have a good long think about things. There’s an issue there.

By far the largest reason why the Zune will be a miserable failure, of course, is the simple fact that Microsoft has yet again come to the party way too late with an inferior product.

Look at graphical user interfaces. Microsoft didn’t take them seriously until 1987, by which time the market was completely sewn up by giants such as Atari, Commodore and Apple. What’s more, the early versions of Microsoft’s GUI barely worked – it was a laughing stock. Microsoft kept throwing money at the problem, but didn’t have a serious contender till 1995. Also look at web browsers. Microsoft totally missed the boat on web browsers and for that matter, the Internet in general.

Let us not forget the brazen hubris of its entry into the video game console market. That sector was so completely dominated by the indomitable triumvirate of Sony, Nintendo and Sega. There was literally no room on retailer’s shelves for a fourth player.

So that’s the kind of track record Microsoft is carrying into the portable digital music player market: a history of miscalculations, missed opportunities and wasted chances.

Where are Windows, Internet Explorer and XBox today, I ask you? Hmmm. Well, at least none of them were brown.

Matthew JC Powell works on a Mac, browses with Firefox, plays games on a PS2 and listens to music on an iPod – but he’s not biased. Share fair and balanced opinions on mjcp@optusnet.com.au.