Why Android is “Better” than Apple and Microsoft

Despite all the talk from (largely uninformed) IT management and professionals that they will only have Windows in the enterprise, it is common knowledge that Windows has never been the premiere platform for servers.In its’ day, Novell Netware was faster, more stable, infinitely more secure than the early incarnations of Windows Server. Novell succumbed to a combination of poor management, a lack of control of their distribution network, and Microsofts’ Advertising behemoth.  Just like VHS killing Beta off, we ended up with an inferior product.  All the mainframe and mini operating systems pretty much put themselves out of business by being over confident, staying in the wrong market place, and moving too slowly to adapt to a changing world. Unix was always a player, but pretty much placed itself outside of the general marketplace by surrounding itself with a layer of superiority and nerdiness.  Along comes Linux.  Finally, a serious threat to the Microsoft machine.  It’s hard to fight free!  So Microsoft take a different tack. How can something FREE be supported?  And, completely overlooking the facts that Microsoft have always written buggy, unsecure and hard-to-support-software, and that the guys who actually WRITE most of the code for Linux are available on forums and mail-lists to fix bugs and listen to requests for improvements and features, IT Management swallowed the Microsoft story hook, line and sinker.  And the guys in the backrooms of all the IT departments have been saddled with having to kludge together awful stuff on Windows like Exchange, Sharepoint and a whole host of products that were superceded as they were dismal failures (a list of those might make an interesting blog sometime 🙂 ).  And sadly, the younguns don’t even know the difference.  They have been brainwashed into thinking that a GUI on a server is productive thing.  Lots don’t even know what a command line looks like.At the consumer level, the late Steve Jobs has returned with a clear head, and some fantastic advice from somebody (had to be – he never had an original idea of his own!) and has tapped into a level of yuppie snobbiness that nobody else had exploited to such heights before.  Whilst Windows were failing miserably with their Smartphones by continually releasing crappy code on sub-standard hardware platforms, and not taking any notice of their users – as usual – Apple put together a product that people actually wanted to use, and more importantly, to be seen using.  At a price. A high price. Apple Tax.So.  Another day.  Along comes Android.   Android is fresh, but green.  It’s free.  But it is supported by the mammoth Google, who have shown vision way beyond that of the industry giants. Google use the massive research tool that is Google Search to analyse what people are saying about their opposition. The understand what people want.  What people NEED.  And Google want to change the world.People that can think for themselves start to sit up and take notice.  This doesn’t include IT Management of course.  They feel safe sitting back with their Windows Servers, iPads, iPhones.  Low risk here – everyone is doing it.But the groundswell has started. People that never thought they would (or could) use a PC are happily tapping away on iPads and Android Tablets.  Of course, Google will never catch up with Apple, people say.So, let’s look at how Google are steadily taking Apple apart, as I suspect it is just a taste of what is to come for Microsoft.By providing a low-cost (free!) platform for Apples’ competitors, and steadily working to improve the offering without making any huge blunders along the way, sales of Android devices are vastly outstripping Apple. The companies that supported Google are riding high. Sales are increasing steadily, hardware is improving at a massive rate to provide for amazing software features and functionality – and they have created a marketplace that is becoming smarter, choosier, less willing to settle for near enough. Google can react quickly to changes in consumer needs, Apple are playing catchup.  The writing is on the wall for Apple – they will be out of the smartphone and tablet market within a couple of years as it won’t be profitable for them.Microsoft are playing catchup too, but are even further behind, and wandering about pretty aimlessly.  They missed the boat with tablets – too little, too late.  A strategy of “one fits all” – one operating system for everything – just isn’t going to cut it, especially not when you start with a slow, bloated, kludgy system.  Metro could have been OK for tablets, if it hadn’t been crippled by trying to make it work on PC’s too (which it doesn’t!)  And Microsoft’s approach of moving things around every time they release a “new version” of Windows is frustrating, expensive and a downright stupid, patently obvious attempt to extract consumer dollars when they have few new (useful) features or improvements to offer.As Google gather momentum and economies of scale with their inroads into the PC space with Chromebooks via Nexus devices, not only will we start to see great hardware at reasonable prices, but we’ll have real innovation at our fingertips, and hopefully the IT management world will open their eyes, stop fudging cost of ownership figures, grow some balls and take some risks.Don’t get me wrong – Competition is good.  Without Apple and the first Macs we’d probably still be using WordPerfect and Lotus 1-2-3.But it’s time for another change.Microsoft and Apple need to (and will, I believe) be pushed aside to make room for Google and more new kids like them.