Is Microsoft still a threat?

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I'm wondering what you guys think of this. Now that Microsoft is under new leadership, and the current CEO doesn't seem to have any interest in destroying Linux, Google, or the free software movement, has Microsoft become a non-issue? So far Microsoft has had three CEOs. Bill Gates was the evil genius who put a PC in every home, but also exploited the system and knew how to fight mean. Steve Ballmer was also evil but totally incompetent; he was obsessed with destroying Linux and Google, but failed miserably at those goals. Satya Nadella is a computer geek who, unlike Ballmer, actually understands computers and cares about the advancement of technology, rather than just making money; he is the polar opposite of Steve Ballmer, possessing the ability to crush the open source movement, but not the desire. Given this, do you think Microsoft is still a threat? Or should we be focusing more on organizations like Facebook and the NSA with their violations of our privacy?

I think as soon as someone wraps iommu emulation on Linux up in a nice slick idiot proof installer with simple instructions and steps with a bow on top then Microsoft is screwed. Iommu is a method that allows virtual environments to talk to real hardware which solves a lot of gamer's need for Windows. As for the professional world, Linux is already a better solution then Windows and I think most people see this. I kinda suspect that Linux has more users then its market share suggest since you can't track how many people download and install Linux on their PC. Linux is also better for mobile and mobile is taking over the computer market anyway, the desktop which only businesses and enthusiast use at this point is kinda going to the way side for the everyday person. Most everyone I know uses a phone, tablet and laptop at this point. I only know a few people that use desktops.

So you will have the enthusiast gamers sold on iommu emulation and a way to play windows games on Linux, you have the average phone, tablet, and laptop user sold on Linux already, and the business world is moving away from windows already. My dad works for a technical company that is in the process of switching everything to Linux. So the way I see it Microsoft is screwed, I think the only people that will buy it at that point is the enthusiast gamer who wants to play games in a virtual machine. That also prevents new versions from coming out or being relevant since steam and everything new will support Linux at that point.

Absolutely everything about existence is a potential threat.

Even if previous generations were trust-worthy with infra-structures that they had built for the benefit of society, that is no guarantee that following generations of decision-makers will be wise, nor does it guarantee that they are not a plant or mole or spy or some sort of covert double-agent who has a mission of infiltrating then sabotaging an entire population/country.

I actually had a lot of trust in Google back in the day, but knowing that the captain and crew will not always be the same people, I am forced to come to terms with the fact that absolutely anything and everything can become... highly... potentially... threateningly... dangerous...

I'll believe they have no interest in eradicating Linux when SecureBoot is no longer present on PC hardware.

Microsoft is more of a threat than ever and it seems that they're finally showing their true colours through their Windows 10 harassment campaign.

Linux may not be up to speed with Windows when it comes to current gen gaming but it more than holds its own with older games (1995-2005) through Wine. In some cases, it can even run games that Windows 7 users have trouble with.

You know what would really give a good middle finger to Micro$oft? If Valve integrated WINE into SteamOS and the Linux versions of Steam. In its current state I honestly think WINE is a joke, but with Valve backing it the way they've been backing Linux itself, I believe they could turn it into one hella nice piece of software.

The only drawback is that Steam OS itself is a disaster and a huge flop. A purpose-built gaming OS should be built on FreeBSD and not Linux. Wine works fine unless you need more advanced graphics than DirectX 9.0c, but it might need some tweaking and some extra drivers and librarier might need to be installed (i.e. it won't necessarily work perfectly out of the box).

Not sure if Microsoft can be considered a threat per se more than anyone else in the IT business nowadays, given the business model. Of course I wouldn't include an outfit like FSF.

Microsoft is actually under-appreciated, since the 80s they have always been the geeky kid everybody bullies. To this day, every new Microsoft product attracts a swarm of trolls and haters the moment its release becomes public, in contrast to the way the press drools over anything new out of Apple. I have been using Windows 10 since its release on my Toshiba laptop and am completely satisfied (really!). It's possible if you have problems with Windows 10, it's due to a quirk in your hardware - Windows (like Android) runs on a limitless set of hardware and invariably some are better than others.

In fact, if anybody is a threat it's Apple because they brazenly try to monopolize every market they enter and destroy the competition - it is my impression they would like our lives to depend on them completely.

Some things I admire them for:

Continuity. Before Windows, you just had MS-DOS which was a command-line OS that the average person couldn't even use without some training. From that point in history (early 80s) they have progressed to what you have now, and AFAIK any software written from that time forward will run on any Windows machine built since (except maybe the Windows RT platform). Unlike Apple where at some point you would have to throw out your old software. I may not be 100% right about this, but it's true AFAIK.

For years, they resisted marketing any hardware of their own, so Windows, Microsoft Office, etc. had to run well enough on their customers' hardware to maintain market share going forward.

They have tried to appeal to the everyday working class person as well as business, etc. Given they were never the cool kids in the neighborhood, they have basically ceded the urban sophisticate market to Apple but have been welcoming to working moms, skaters, telemarketers, whoever just needs to get work done and enjoy some gaming and web surfing.

Not sure if this strictly addresses the original question, but was an enjoyable rant.

As for mobile, although I have never used a Windows Phone, I suspect that platform could easily stand against the two leading ones however because never thought cool, there has been very little app development for it, otherwise I might own one by now.