Microsoft CEO Candidate Elop considers scrapping Bing and selling off xbox - Polidicks

[url]http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-11-08/microsoft-ceo-candidate-elop-said-to-mull-windows-shift.html[/url] [Quote]Besides emphasizing Office, Elop would be prepared to sell or shut down major businesses to sharpen the company’s focus, the people said. He would consider ending Microsoft’s costly effort to take on Google with its Bing search engine, and would also consider selling healthy businesses such as the Xbox game console if he determined they weren’t critical to the company’s strategy, the people said. Earlier this week, investors drove Microsoft shares to their highest price since mid-2000, after Nomura Holdings Inc. analyst Rick Sherlund said the sale of Bing and Xbox, along with other moves, could lift fiscal 2015 earnings by 40 percent.[/Quote] Plenty of other news in the same article as well.

No single empire lasts forever, I guess.

Does anyone use Bing..well..on purpose?

[QUOTE=RoboChimp;42797428]Does anyone use Bing..well..on purpose?[/QUOTE] when I'm drunk I use my windows phone's bing button instead of looking for the google app

Am I righ tin thinking hes proposing to sell bing and xbox to boost the profits that year? What happens afterwards? thats selling your cashcow for short term gain. Idiocy.

[QUOTE=RoboChimp;42797428]Does anyone use Bing..well..on purpose?[/QUOTE] I kind of have to on my phone since I can't unbind the Bing button, I get the impression that is how most people feel about using it.

[QUOTE=mdeceiver79;42797503]Am I righ tin thinking hes proposing to sell bing and xbox to boost the profits that year? What happens afterwards? thats selling your cashcow for short term gain. Idiocy.[/QUOTE] Shareholders generally are idiots, caring only about the next fiscal year and the true visionaries may look a quarter beyond that

[QUOTE=mdeceiver79;42797503]Am I righ tin thinking hes proposing to sell bing and xbox to boost the profits that year? What happens afterwards? thats selling your cashcow for short term gain. Idiocy.[/QUOTE] Well no, if they sell them they get the money, but they also don't have to spend money on those things any more. This would mean Microsoft could focus on Windows, Tablets, Phones and Software, which is where the analysts think the money is at (and they're mostly right)

They should divide Xbox as a separate company under the ownership of Microsoft.

I dont know about this. I dont think it would do good for Microsoft or the Xbox

[QUOTE=Badballer;42797522]They should divide Xbox as a separate company under the ownership of Microsoft.[/QUOTE] They should sell the Kinect as a separate motion sensor thing for devs instead of bundling it with an xbox It's got a lot more possible applications on PC than on some gimmicky useless xbox games no one even play.

He won't become CEO anyways, he already ran nokia into the ground

[QUOTE=ZachPL;42797663]He won't become CEO anyways, he already ran nokia into the ground[/QUOTE] The perfect candidate then :v:

What a fucking idiot. Selling Xbox?? The ability for Microsoft to have control of the delivery of entertainment services in a home is way too important for the long-term to sell for a quick buck.

A lot of what is wrong with microsoft is that they try and dip their fingers into everything. I think cutting ties to heavy consumerism and refocusing on business and enterprise, professional applications, and cloud/infrastructure as a service is where they need to go. They can't win (and they, for the most part, have lost big) in the consumer market, it's high risk and low reward. They are [I]the[/I] name in enterprise and business, and if they focus and grow apps like office and whatnot, they will be set, more so then they are now. I know FP as a whole isn't IT oriented but the levels of pure money that is made and spent for business software and hardware is mind boggling and puts divisions like the PR troubled xbox unit to shame. They don't need to be the company 'at home' when they're already the company 'at work'

[QUOTE=E1025;42798741]What a fucking idiot. Selling Xbox?? The ability for Microsoft to have control of the delivery of entertainment services in a home is way too important for the long-term to sell for a quick buck.[/QUOTE] XBox Division is something like $17,000,000,000 in the red. It's never made money. Similarly with the rest of the home and entertainment stuff. Meanwhile their office division is where all their profits come from.

[QUOTE=RoboChimp;42797428]Does anyone use Bing..well..on purpose?[/QUOTE] I use it on my phone and it's actually pretty good. Wouldn't use it on my PC though.

[QUOTE=RoboChimp;42797428]Does anyone use Bing..well..on purpose?[/QUOTE] I use Bing mainly because I get points for doing so and with those points I can buy things like XBL membership and credit for the Windows Phone Marketplace.

[quote]and would also consider selling healthy businesses such as the Xbox game console[/quote] Except it's not a healthy business at all and it's bleeding money.

[QUOTE=Atlascore;42799970]Why did they even bother making the Xbox One if they're losing money?[/QUOTE] Why do you think they are massively broadening it with music, TV, motion controls and all that? They want a success like the Wii because anything less won't recoup their losses. If Xbone is a failure (or rather, not a massive success) it's very probable that there won't be an Xbox 4. Heck there might not be a PS5 or WiiU 2 either, the way things are going.

[QUOTE=Atlascore;42799970]Why did they even bother making the Xbox One if they're losing money?[/QUOTE] Because they arn't really losing money

[QUOTE=Grimhound;42798855]XBox Division is something like $17,000,000,000 in the red. It's never made money. Similarly with the rest of the home and entertainment stuff. Meanwhile their office division is where all their profits come from.[/QUOTE] What? Both existing Xboxe's have broken even (by a LARGE factor). Overwhelmingly Xbox (Especially Xbox Live) has been a vehement success. [editline]8th November 2013[/editline] [QUOTE=Major_Vice;42798841] I know FP as a whole isn't IT oriented but the levels of pure money that is made and spent for business software and hardware is mind boggling and puts divisions like the PR troubled xbox unit to shame. They don't need to be the company 'at home' when they're already the company 'at work'[/QUOTE] This, MS makes so much money off of licensing it hurts my head.

I wonder where everyone gets the ideas that Xbox are breaking even or even making a proft. The Xbox division bleeds money. [url]http://www.neowin.net/news/report-microsofts-xbox-division-has-lost-nearly-3-billion-in-10-years[/url] [url]http://www.mcvuk.com/news/read/8bn-the-total-losses-made-by-xbox-360-and-ps3/0108917[/url] [url]http://www.businessinsider.com/microsoft-earns-2-billion-per-year-from-android-patent-royalties-2013-11[/url]

[QUOTE=acds;42800464]I wonder where everyone gets the ideas that Xbox are breaking even or even making a proft. The Xbox division bleeds money. [url]http://www.neowin.net/news/report-microsofts-xbox-division-has-lost-nearly-3-billion-in-10-years[/url] [/QUOTE] Much of the money the actual Xbox makes, doesn't go directly to that division (Mainly because they head the console itself, not many of the add on services). Once you include the overwhelming success the Xbox brought to DirectX, and it's other proprietary standards; the Xbox project has been a massive success.

[QUOTE=glitchvid;42800602]Much of the money the actual Xbox makes, doesn't go directly to that division (Mainly because they head the console itself, not many of the add on services). Once you include the overwhelming success the Xbox brought to DirectX, and it's other proprietary standards; the Xbox project has been a massive success.[/QUOTE] Xbox Live, among most other services, are indeed on the same division. Giving a boost to DirectX does not recoup all the losses, we're talking billions here, not millions. I have no idea how you managed to get that it has been a "massive success" when all it has done is lose them money.

[QUOTE=E1025;42798741]What a fucking idiot. Selling Xbox?? The ability for Microsoft to have control of the delivery of entertainment services in a home is way too important for the long-term to sell for a quick buck.[/QUOTE] Seriously if you are going to talk like you know more about Microsoft's financial situation and vision than a CEO candidate at least try to back up your claims.

[QUOTE=Ganerumo;42797655]They should sell the Kinect as a separate motion sensor thing for devs instead of bundling it with an xbox It's got a lot more possible applications on PC than on some gimmicky useless xbox games no one even play.[/QUOTE] You can buy a PC developer version of the connect. [url]http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/kinectforwindows/purchase/[/url]

Spinning off Xbox into its own company actually does make sense. It would help refocus Microsoft on their most profitable sector- software, without worrying about vidya games. Also you have to keep in mind the corporation doesn't exist for itself, it exists for the shareholders- meaning that it doesn't matter if Microsoft itself makes less profit by spinning off Xbox, because the shareholders will make more money from owning shares in Xbox and Microsoft separately, assuming that they would function more efficiently as individual entities.

[QUOTE=ZachPL;42797663]He won't become CEO anyways, he already ran nokia into the ground[/QUOTE] Pretty much on the order of Microsoft...

I love how the moment someone says something about MS losing money on Xbox everyone jumps on board and decides to educate one another it. Very strange timing!