Comment by AnthonyMouse

> Microsoft strategy was just bad. It tried to copy the iPhone when it should have tried to copy its own strategy on PC, which is creating a OS and letting other companies build Windows Phones.

That wouldn't have worked either. Microsoft has the desktop market today because they had it in 1981 when the IBM PC was released. Operating systems have huge network effects.

There is very little they can do today that will cause them to lose that. People hate that there is no simple off switch for all the Windows 10 telemetry, but is it causing all those people to switch to Ubuntu? No. They're mostly sticking with Windows 7, and when support runs out on that, they'll grit their teeth and use Windows 10. Because they have no choice. They need Office and Photoshop and Active Directory and some weird printer thing from their weird printer support company and a dozen other things like that. Which kind of maybe have Linux equivalents but some of them aren't as good and all of them have some initial switching cost which would all have to be taken on at the same time. So when the choice comes to either let Microsoft punch you in the face or walk away, most people still aren't willing to walk away.

But with Android the shoe is on the other foot. Microsoft can't dislodge Android for the same reasons that Canonical can't dislodge Windows.