Why Does Microsoft Abandons Its Own Software?

[bdsams Veteran]

where are my "Ultimate Extras"?

[Scorpus Veteran]

where are my "Ultimate Extras"?

I enjoyed those on Vista, especially Texas Hold 'Em, which in my opinion is the best game Microsoft has ever (partially) included with Windows

[notuptome2004]

When i Originaly upgraded back in 2006 to a AMD Athlon X2 3800+ with 2gb of ram and windows Vista ultimate beta and finale i used DVD Maker alot it was rather sweet that and used Movie maker also as it was more integrated for both programs and was easy to use and on top of that both programs were Multi-threaded based and both Cores would reach 80% or more on that old Dual core on both programs . also ran an 8600GTS at the time

i would love to see Microsoft really bring both back ina huge way in windows 8 and a version for 7 that really exploits new hardware has many features

[soldier1st]

It's a money issue. If it don't sell very well then abandon it.

[lalalawawawa]

Who uses DVDs anymore, seriously?

[Quillz]

Who uses DVDs anymore, seriously?

A lot of people still do.

[BeerFan]

Who uses DVDs anymore, seriously?

I do.

[Digitalx]

As a whole I think this is a part of the whole... Microsoft abandoning Windows Vista's fizz and pop and not paying attention to general basics. Microsoft only provide basic foundations in consumer arena like media player, movie maker etc if people want better software then they buy better software akin to adobes offerings or sony vegas etc.

Apple do it too (to a degree) but at the end of the day they don't like people leaving or not using their offerings in favour of others so they try to provide all the basics needed by a general consumer in ilife which you get with macs or for a small cost and keeps them within apples boundaries.

This basically demonstrates the development ideals between the two. Microsoft gives the options without much fuss which other companies can benefit from where as apple will push you to stay within their eco-system while providing less as a whole (look how little OS X in general appearance and usage has changed since leopard as an example while other stuff takes focus).

[~Johnny]

There are a few more cases where I think Microsoft have made some great software, but then just left it stagnate.

For one - basically everything in the Microsoft Expression Suite, outside of Blend. Infact, they messed up Web's UI and then left it unfinished, they sold of Expression Media after leaving it to stagnate, and Design hasn't had much new added to it in years apart from Import & Export of Adobe files. There's genuine potential and usefulness in the entire Expression Suite, but only Blend seems to be getting any attention. Zune saw some great development upto about v3, and hasn't really seen much added since then, Office Picture Manager got abandoned (though I suspect it actually got superseded by Live Photo Gallery).

They seem content to make a piece of software get upto a certain quality level for it's time, and then when it gets there, give themselves a pat on the back and send their teams off to work on something else instead. Which is a shame.

[Sedriss]

Im in the same boat with regards to Movie Maker. I was wondering what you guys would suggest as to a free alternative to Movie Maker? By biggest gripe right now is that MM wont even play any vids I have. It used to. It wont even play videos that I created with it.

[~Johnny]

Im in the same boat with regards to Movie Maker. I was wondering what you guys would suggest as to a free alternative to Movie Maker? By biggest gripe right now is that MM wont even play any vids I have. It used to. It wont even play videos that I created with it.

I think Windows Live Movie Maker runs using Media Foundation or DirectShow video codecs, so installing a decent codec pack should fix that for you?

[Sedriss]

Hmmm i may have to do that. I did a reformat in October. Before that, everything was working fine

[Sam not Spam]

Given some of those are free? I've heard that the point of some of the smaller applications is to give you something to use until you buy a program for Windows. For instance, Windows Movie Maker isn't supposed to replace the for-pay video editors you can get in the store or online. Paint isn't supposed to replace Photoshop (CSx or Elements), Paint Shop Pro, or any number of other image editors. Notepad and Word Pad aren't supposed to replace a full-featured word processor (or even Microsoft and Google's webapps).

They, supposedly, are enough to get you started and hungry for more. Apple? Well, the days of them not trying to compete with software partners is over, and they use the various software bits they sell to help force upgrades to newer versions of OSX and newer hardware. Its all extra money for them, and helps keep you within their ecosystem. More importantly for them, they're self-sufficient; I think the average user would be fine using nothing but Apple software on their Macs. Microsoft would've likely gotten sued over the same thing in the past.

[Sedriss]

Well i've tried a few codec packs but that seems to not have worked. I wonder what could be up. Grrrr Microsoft! I hate but I love you.

[Ntrstd]

Recently I have noticed quite few things about Microsoft and their desire to update their products. I will mention a few:

Widgets: When Vista came out, the promised us all kinds of widgets and things for the sidebar and the OS itself...Never happened.

The widgets are now extinct from their website.

Microsoft DVD Maker: You would think that such a great piece of software would be given updates from time to time. By that I mean, they should have the decency to offer more themes for creating DVDs on the application, etc. There hasn't been an update to Microsoft DVD Maker in years.

Microsoft Movie Maker: Seriously, this application is a joke. No wonder people prefer Apple's own Movie Maker to make videos. What was Microsoft thinking about when they created this? The UI is clunky and difficult to get around on. The program itself is not very stable. It is not very useful and it hasn't been updated with new features or tools since it came out. The average user will find this application completely useless once they try Apple's Movie Maker or any other video editor out there. Both Windows Movie Maker and Microsoft DVD Maker need a serious revamp and they need to be turned into 1 application so that it can work better.

Windows 7 Themes: What is going on in this department? Not a single theme on their page is attractive. I know 16 year olds that can make better themes than those on their website! Seriously? Look at all the beautiful themes people at Neowin make. You would figure after all these years, Microsoft would have learned their lesson from all these people who make such gorgeous themes and get a bit more creative. Microsoft needs to officially let the user customize the OS any way they want by allowing the use of non-Microsoft themes, instead of forcing the user to acquire third party applications like Universal Theme Patcher, VistaGlazz and UxStyle and could potentially cause a problem in the OS should a service pack come along that changes the main files that these appz crack.

What do you people think?

Microsoft is in the business of selling operating systems. Also apps like Microsoft Office. That's where the money is, so that's what they support long term. Themes and widgets are usually just demo items to show off Windows features. It's not a product in itself. Themes and widgets don't really do anything. I tend to disable them because it can slow down the computer and cause crashes. Plus it changes the look and feel of the computer. Some people are confused by sorting the menus into alphabetical order. So changing the theme can send their brain into a tailspin.

Microsoft DVD Maker and Microsoft Movie Maker are basic apps aimed at the home user. They work quite well for what they are intended to do. What is there to update? Most people just want to whip up some home video and holiday snapshots. Lots of video on youtube and other sites is made with these packages. Buying Adobe Premier CS5 Photoshop Script Air is expensive and too complicated.

[bjoswald]

Honestly, I don't see the big deal about it. They're just little add-ins that make your desktop a little more fun, not life-changing features that introduce major features. There are plenty of decent third-party apps that provide what you're looking for.

[Royalty]

Life At Microsoft - Laziness

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