for years, developers gave the same old story that it wasn't worth
developing software for Macs because the market share was too low.
However, one company has developed for the Macs through it all. (That's
not to say there weren't threats and
bargains made to keep up support.)
Mac users actually rewarded Microsoft by having a higher purchase
rate for Excel than Windows users - and nearly as high for Word at
times.
Word and Excel market share on Mac and Windows, 1988 to 1997.
If Microsoft was making money, why not develop for the Mac?
From some of his negative comments, you might think that Steve
Ballmer wants to change this policy - or at the very least that he
doesn't think highly of Macs. He laughed when Apple launched the
iPhone, yet the Mac
Business Unit at Microsoft is going strong. They even have a nice
website.
I appreciate the Mac version of Microsoft Office simply because I
can transfer files between work and home with near perfect
compatibility. All my charts, photos, and formatting carry over with
only a rare exception. for the longest time, Office for Mac was the
only source for true Microsoft Office compatibility on the Mac.
OpenOffice is finally
giving them some competition, which should make Microsoft try
harder.
When it comes down to it, Apple is mostly a hardware company, and
Microsoft is mostly a software company. It shouldn't be surprising that
they find common ground for selling products to each other's
customers.
Despite all the differences, these two companies still need each
other.
PC word processing market share by unit sales, 1986-1997.
for years, Microsoft Word
struggled against WordPerfect on the PC, but it found an instant home
on the Mac. The iPod would not have become the huge hit it is today if
it was kept exclusively for the Mac. Third party support is what makes
the computer world work.
Mac word processor market share by units, 1988 to 1997.
Still, it came as a shock to many to see Microsoft release software for the
iPhone. The Seadragon Mobile software allows for deep zoom on an
image with high resolution. This software goes along with another from
Microsoft, Photosynth,
which takes multiple photos taken from one location and joins them
together.
This bit of news is only shocking if you haven't been paying
attention. Back in November 2007, there was news that Microsoft was
going to allow for PowerPoint slides to port over to the iPhone as
pictures. In March 2008, we learned that
Microsoft was starting to use the iPhone SDK to build software. It was
only a matter of time before an application found its way to the
iPhone.
for all the bragging Microsoft has to do for its own Windows Mobile
platform, it was going to establish a presence on the iPhone
eventually.
I think it is better for consumers that these companies work
together. They each have expertise in their own areas that bring value
when combined.
They are Titans locked in constant struggle, but linked by
partnerships.
Who needs enemies when you can have friends like these?
