Are you Getting the Most from the Internet?

You might have seen it, but Microsoft just announced that they were cutting 5,000 jobs.  I guess it goes without saying that their business is really struggling these days.  Of course everyone’s is right?

No, not really.  The reason MSFT is hurting so badly right now is because they haven’t performed very well. And their poor performance has probably caused you to be inefficient in your work.

Let me explain.  From way back in the nineties when Microsoft was in trouble with the anti-trust legislation, their business model has been absolutely dependent on planned obsolescence. This is when they produce something that would be just fine for many years, but instead they intend that it will be obsolete in a matter of months.

Microsoft did that very very well.  For 4 or 5 iterations of software they WAY outdid themselves and made Americans yearn for the newer and better thing.  They were able to get their newest, hottest, coolest thing in your hands every time you bought a new computer.

And here is the kicker.

Almost every piece of software which you needed in order to be productive was made by Microsoft. They depended on you and me wanting the newest hottest software so we would go out and spend thousands to buy the package with all the Microsoft proprietary stuff on it. Now that Vista has not quite had the same reception Microsoft is accustomed to, the planned obsolescence of XP turned out to be not such a good bet.

And all that is just great, but here is where it has gotten most people in trouble.

You have INCORRECTLY assumed that everything you need in order to be productive is made by Microsoft.

If I had a nickel for everyone I talk to who still uses Internet Explorer… well… I could buy a MAC!

Now I am not advocating ditching windows all together (nor am I saying you should keep it).  Microsoft has served us well as we have made our way into the information age.  To everything there is a season.  I hope that all those Microsoft employees take what they have learned and start companies acheive far more.

What I am saying is that if you are working on your computer for more than an hour a day, it is absolutely essential that you learn to use tools made from other companies which can help you to be far more productive than the tools microsoft “gives” you in its packages.

So Stay tuned.  We will be looking at Firefox very soon, then we will look at Google Docs,  openoffice, and freemind.  Every single one of these has taken a basic idea from Microsofts technology and made it way better.  By the way, every single one of those productivity tools is free.

There are many other tools out there, and I would love your thoughts.

What is YOUR favorite tool for being more productive online?

More on this topic

• The Story of the Twitter monster – Web 2.0 Genius
• Most CEO’s in the US are ISTJ
• Microsoft Buying Yahoo?
• My machine is normal again…
• Do you need to buy a new PC on New Years Eve?

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