Microsoft's "Perfect Storm"

I was going to pass comment on David Meyer's posting about the Zune Phone but actually went off on one and I am thinking that this deserves a blog posting in it's own right.

Microsoft Marketing are probably rubbing their hands with glee at the moment for kicking Apple when it's "down" (must be a headless company without a "leader"). They also seem to be expressing untold joy that we are in a recession and the money is now flowing to them - those in the "cheap" seats. Having run a series of commercials where Microsoft give people money (not quite enough to buy a Mac) and then celebrate the fact they bought a PC. Hey cool, we're cheap.

They've notched it up a gear now by getting a "financial analyst" to tell people it will cost 'em 30,000 bucks to "fill" an iPod. This is neglecting the fact that NOBODY fills their iPod from the iTunes music store. New stuff maybe, but most have a vast catalogue of CDs which they have ripped and no doubt the youngsters still swap copies of music at school. But hey. They are still trying to sell a Zune Pass - give us all your money and we'll let you listen to some music. All music, well all music we can get the rights to. Cheap shot again Microsoft.

So they seem tragically hung up about Apple. You can imagine Ballmer stalking the offices late at night saying "We would have got away with it if it weren't for those damn Apple kids."

So where are they now? How are your Plays for Sure partners doing, Microsoft? You can just never trust 'em. Last night's twitter telling people not to buy an iPhone or Pre in June coz something new is coming is just SO from the Microsoft playbook. Which usually involves waving big flags when people launch stuff and saying "hey you guys, don't look over there look over here". Meanwhile they never actually deliver.

The marketing team think they have hit a perfect storm attack on Apple where as in fact what they have done is just drawn attention to the fact that they lie. They lie with stats, they lie with numbers but when you strip everything away they just downright lie. They have not won this war and yet they keep throwing money at it.

I have started to wonder if the $3.75 billion Microsoft are raising with this debt offering is actually to GIVE Zune phones to every man woman and child in the USA to stop them buying the damn iPhone?