Microsoft trumpets record second quarter results

It seems as if Nokia's not the only mega-corp on the block with good news to proclaim to Wall Street today, as the giant from Redmond is proudly announcing record second quarter results and pinpointing "robust holiday sales and enterprise demand drive" as the culprit. In the three months ending December 31, 2007, Microsoft pulled in some $16.37 billion in revenue and $6.48 billion in operating income, which translated to 30-percent and 87-percent growth in each area, respectively. The outfit also took the chance to mention that sales of Windows Vista had surpassed 100 million licenses, and Kevin Johnson, president of the Platforms and Services Division, even noted that it was "looking forward to the release of its first service pack later this quarter." You and just under 100 million others, we'd surmise.

[rimshot515 @ Jan 24th 2008 8:25PM]

woot! yay M$!
and yes i just copied gizmodo

[Alee @ Jan 24th 2008 9:24PM]

I'm getting really sick of Engadget.

What really pissed me off during CES is that Ryan Block used engadget to promote his gf, she was on WAY too many product photos. Poor form

and then there's always the inevitable "engadget taking a jab at Microsoft" thing. Why? I just don't get it. Did Microsoft abuse you guys as a child? Fact is, is that without Microsoft you guys wouldn't have the jobs you have today.

I wish we could just stick to news and leave the snide remarks and jabs about microsoft alone. Have some jounalistic integrity.

[Andir3.0 @ Jan 24th 2008 9:34PM]

"Fact is, is that without Microsoft you guys wouldn't have the jobs you have today"

Prove it.

[mike @ Jan 24th 2008 9:43PM]

Heres your proof: No one would own computers because they would be too expensive to catch on.

[Intrepid @ Jan 24th 2008 10:01PM]

@Alee
Agreed. And I wondered who that girl was...

@Andir3.0
Mike is right. Computers are cheap now because of Microsoft and IBM's work on the original PC. Apple wanted and still wants computers to be exclusive.

@Engadget
You have a lot of comments here saying that you pay out on Microsoft/Vista too much... take note!

[CaptCaveman @ Jan 24th 2008 10:19PM]

@Alee

I have to agree with you on the job thing. The speed at which things such as the internet, home computers, on-line gaming, and a slew of other things that we enjoy today has been made easier because of Microsoft.
You think that the Commodore 64 or the TRS-80 would have brought us to this point? You think that half the people that you know would have picked up the huge (at the time) Computer Shopper, went through 100+ pages of ads, and ordered a PC just to run DOS and deal with config.sys and autoexec.bat to make sure all your drivers load without conflicts, just to get a game of Lemmings to run? I doubt it.

[Loonie @ Jan 24th 2008 10:20PM]

wow, intrepid/mike... so there were no home computers before Microsoft came along? Did I hallucinate all those Sinclair/Commodore/BBC Micro years?

[Jack Storm @ Jan 24th 2008 10:39PM]

@Loonie

Did you even read what they wrote? They never said there were no home computers before Microsoft. They simply stated that they, Microsoft, made 'em cheaper and more widely available. I guess Steve"your god" Jobs was right about something, people dont read.

[Scott @ Jan 24th 2008 11:00PM]

Good lord are you guys all 17 years old here? Microsoft made computers *cheaper*? WTF was all that monopoly nonsense where they forced the retailers to sell windows on ALL computers or NO computers.

It doesn't take an econ major to realize that reducing competition makes prices go up for everyone!

[SirPasta117 @ Jan 24th 2008 11:24PM]

From Microsoft Reports Record Revenue,
" About Microsoft

Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT”) is the worldwide leader in software, services and solutions that help people and businesses realize their full potential."

Its stuff like that makes me smile knowing that my major deals with computers :)
and this post makes me click my "Engadget" Bookmark a few less times a day, and that I have all ads on the site blocked......after what Gizmodo did to their Halo 3 swag, I havent the site since. and I would have no problem not visiting this site as well....careful Engadget......If you don't listen to your readers....then you won't have any

[Dragod @ Jan 24th 2008 11:59PM]

Wow, I just looked up what happened with the Halo 3 swag at Gizmodo... That guys' a douche. Those people had every right to be mad, he was throwing shit that many of us would love to have, and didn't even bother to spend more than 2 minutes doing the "Unboxing".. I'm pretty much never going to Gizmodo for that second video... Bastard. Very unprofessional for them.

[stephenbratz2 @ Jan 25th 2008 12:10AM]

@Loonie: You do know that the Commodore 64/128/Pet used BASIC which was written by Microsoft, don't you?

[m @ Jan 25th 2008 1:03AM]

and did YOU know that BASIC wasn't actually invented by microsoft? they haven't done anything original from day 1.

"The BASIC programming language was developed at Dartmouth College in the mid-1960's by professors John Kemeny and Thomas Kurtz, as a vehicle to be used to teach programming. Paul Allen and Bill Gates developed a version of BASIC for the Altair computer, being built by MITS of Albuquerque, NM, in themid-1970's."

http://www.oldsoftwareinfo.com/msbasv.htm

[stephenbratz2 @ Jan 25th 2008 2:27AM]

@m

Yes, Microsoft implemented a programming language that they did not invent. They also implemented C, C++, Java, Pascal, FORTRAN. Just like open source implemented C, C++, Pascal, and many more, and Apple implemented extensions to Pascal, Objective C was licensed from StepStone to create their own version, and IBM implemented C++, APL, and COBOL, and Intel implemented C++, and FORTRAN, and Fujitsu implemented COBOL, and FORTRAN, and DEC bought FORTRAN from Microsoft, DEC later bought by Compaq, later bought by HP, and so on, and so on, and so on.

But I did not say anything about copying, I was just pointing out that somebody said that Commodore did not use Microsoft software. Now are you going to complain about those other companies that "copied" (if something is a standard, is it really copying? Didn't Safary or Opera copy HTML?) or is your only point to crap all over Microsoft and ignore when others do the same?

[Andir3.0 @ Jan 25th 2008 6:52AM]

You still haven't proven that we would be in a worse state today without Microsoft. I would actually argue that we might be in a better situation with competition.

[Andir3.0 @ Jan 25th 2008 8:42AM]

My point is that you can't prove that Microsoft is the reason they have jobs today. If Microsoft were not in the industry, maybe another operating system might be popular. Maybe even Linux. Think about all those years where MS dominated? What if all those years people were working on open source applications and tools? We'd have even more interoperability today because any company could create software that could edit your documents. You could open your document in any software because all the software would have access to the file formats. You could buy any hardware and run said application on because you wouldn't be stuck to x86 and a certain company's OS and whatever it supports. (And yes, you can have companies in an open source market. The guy pounding away on a keyboard in his basement is a stereotypical view, and is a false view on what Open Source is.) You would also have more competition in hardware. DEC/Alpha might have still been in business giving Intel (and maybe AMD, though some of the Alpha guys were hired into AMD) a run for their money. You could have more choices in hardware because any hardware company could analyze the kernel and write drivers for it, without having to comply with one specific companies view on how it should be done and then getting their approval..

Microsoft had little to nothing to do with HTML and HTTP. So, you may still have bloggers in this world without Microsoft. The users may even be viewing pages on a standards compliant browser instead of some gimped version of IE. Hell, we may even be able to move on to an internet with new features created by some new browser making a storm instead of having to comply to Microsoft's vision of what the internet was supposed to be. Gaming might be further along. Instead of waiting for Microsoft to release their next version of DirectX, a talented group of developers writing a game that revolutionizes the market would gain recognition, and money from teaching others or supporting their engine. Of course, someone else could come along, optimize it and make the experience that much better. But no. You want to wait for MS to update their libraries first.

Saying that bloggers wouldn't have a job without Microsoft is ignorant.

[Loonie @ Jan 25th 2008 7:25PM]

@Mister Jack Storm,

Yes, I read what they wrote. The implication was that affordable home computing would never have happened without Microsoft. Yet other systems developed in parallel achieving just as much success and affordability without any MS involvement. Therefore I take issue with the idea that it was MS who brought affordable home computing to the masses, and without them we'd be chiseling onto stone tablets.

And another thing. Please, can we knock off this "uh you sed bad thing about Microsoft therefore you must be Apple fanboy" bilge? I didn't even mention Apple (Apple 2's floating point BASIC was supplied by MS). I don't have a single Apple product, and I am unlikely to, either. I suppose if the topic were Xbox I would be a Sony fanboy? God, it's like some kind of semi-Godwin's law.


@Mister stephenbratz2:

Yes, I know. Actually, if you really want to be pedantic, it wasn't written by MS, it was written by Commodore based on Microsoft's MOS 6502-BASIC core. Tell me, are you implying the success of Commodore was due to the fact that they used a derivative of Microsoft's derivative of BASIC?


@Mister rimshot515:

I apologize for spamming your thread, especially if you have the "E-mail on reply" flag set. It might be nice to implement the reply feature for replies themselves. Or maybe I should just let these things lie. Life is just too short for all this willy-waving, and it is likely all just destined for a shrieking, hyperbolic, comment-ranking frenzy with zero substance.

[John @ Jan 24th 2008 8:28PM]

I'd be interested to see a breakdown of income and profit by product, or at least category.

[brad @ Jan 24th 2008 8:58PM]

go buy one share of MS stock...its called an annual report/quaterly report

[blackeagle @ Jan 24th 2008 9:14PM]

You don't have to own any shares.

you can read their report on their site here http://www.microsoft.com/msft/earnings/FY08/earn_rel_q2_08.mspx

this is the beauty of a publicly traded companies.

[Darak @ Jan 24th 2008 8:28PM]

Was the shot at Vista really necessary? We get it. Vista has flaws. People would like SP1.

[rimshot515 @ Jan 24th 2008 8:33PM]

fuck that, i want sp3 for xp

[mike @ Jan 24th 2008 8:38PM]

Yeah! When is SP3 coming out? I won't get Vista until I buy a new comp and they are on SP2.

[J L @ Jan 24th 2008 8:43PM]

The comment about Vista was TOTALLY not needed. I recently upgraded my 3 year old laptop to Vista, and have no issues. Can't MS get a break? If it's not PC World blasting them, it's Engadget. When Apple releases record profit numbers this year, you won't make fun of them, will you? No! AAPL does no wrong!

(You can say what you want about my comment... I'm not going to comeback and read the degenerate filth that comes out of the head of a mac-tard.)

[V3LOCIP3D3 @ Jan 24th 2008 8:59PM]

Well look . . Microsoft has always had a break . . they own 95% of the market . . they could put their legs up for the next six years and come back to a market they still own. Engadget is owned by boys who won't let you in their clubhouse unless you own a mac. Not a lot of people like macs, you just need to get out in the real world.

btw, have you read this article on Vista having the least amount of security flaws of any operating system out right now . . . mac blew it: http://www.darkreading.com/document.asp?doc_id=143979&WT.svl=news1_1

[Elliott @ Jan 24th 2008 8:34PM]

Wow, fred, you were totally right. I seriously wonder how much in kickbacks Engadget is getting from Apple.

QUOTE from http://www.engadget.com/2008/01/24/apple-wants-to-light-up-your-ipod-touchpad/

fred @ Jan 24th 2008 8:18PM
...
Apple's numbers were posted the minute they were released.
Microsoft's are being suppressed until late tonight like they did during the last quarter.
If you want to pretend that this is just by chance, then you are nuts.
...

[fred @ Jan 24th 2008 8:39PM]

I just know these guys better than they know themselves.

I'm sure it pained them to no end to write this article.

[mike @ Jan 24th 2008 8:38PM]

A lot probably. Probably "special" friends with Steve Jobs.

[SteveMB @ Jan 24th 2008 10:09PM]

iBlowSteve

[wookee88 @ Jan 24th 2008 10:24PM]

@ SteveMB

is that the newest apple product? like iPod or iTunes? =D

[Elliott @ Jan 24th 2008 10:25PM]

SteveMB: Thank you...that was amazing.

[Elliott @ Jan 24th 2008 10:42PM]

Sorry to reply on my own comment, but I have two more things I want to say:

Is it just me, or has the general populace of Engadget's readers begun to voice out more and more that they are sick and tired of the Apple bias journalism? When are you gonna take a hint Engadget? I, for one, am almost ready to jump ship.

And aside from Vista's lackluster performance, I do have to say that I'm really not surprised about this huge revenue increase for Microsoft. They have been changing a lot, THEY have been taking hints from their customers, and as a network admin, I have to say their server product has become a top notch contender as I have an almost 100% uptime and am looking forward to Server 2008.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I must go shower as I feel dirty lauding any corporate giant.

[m @ Jan 25th 2008 1:09AM]

this entire thread is ridiculous. all in all, engadget is pretty even-handed. if the fanboys want apple-biased coverage, they have no shortage of outlets. do you realize that neither appleinsider nor macrumors made any mention of apple's tanking stock value? at all?

[R @ Jan 24th 2008 8:38PM]

And yet there are those that would have you believe that we're on the cusp of a horrible economic downturn. From riches to rags in one month makes no sense when business fundamentals are good. Yes, mortgages. I know, I know...

Hmmm... must be an election going on. Seems reminiscent of Clinton One's "Worst economy in 50 years" crack a few years back that wasn't factually true either. Hmmm.. is Clinton Two running? Must be coincidence.

[rimshot515 @ Jan 24th 2008 8:40PM]

Clinton 2? I wonder what that would be like.
"I did not sleep with that man in the oval office."
-breaks into tears

[BigD145 @ Jan 24th 2008 9:51PM]

Oil companies have been turning record profits for the past few years, but that doesn't mean there's plenty of oil (or money) to go around. Retail Vista is one of the most expensive OS's around and gas is also quite expensive. National (US) savings rates are as low as they were in the Great Depression. Big tycoons were making big bucks then as well. Gouging is only a piece of what's going on here.

[what @ Jan 24th 2008 10:22PM]

R, looking at one US corporation's record profits does not mean the US economy is fine and dandy.

[Wally @ Jan 24th 2008 8:41PM]

So much for all of that nonsense about how much vista sucks!!

[Fernando @ Jan 24th 2008 9:03PM]

You can almost feel the pain engadget suffered in writing this post...

[Sean Clarke @ Jan 25th 2008 2:11AM]

Why all these ridiculous posts bashing the other side. Surely as a reader of Engadget you are a computer / technology enthusiast, in which case you should be interested in news about either platform. A real enthusiast appreciates both OSs plus the many others there, a real computer enthusiast most likely still has a soft spot for the Amiga, The BBC, C64, Sinclair and can appreciate how cutting edge they were for their time. They probably even lusted after a neXt Cube.

Whether you use a Microsoft based machine, a Mac or a Linux machine shouldnt matter. In fact as far as I'm concerned if you bash the other side just because you don't own and use their products then you are nothing more than an immature little kid who thinks his toys are better because he doesnt know any better.

All this crap with Xbox is better than PS3, Apple is better than Microsoft, this is better than that... Windows Mobile is better than the iPhone... its all just crap. They all have their good points and should be appreciated as such.

Each time I see a negative comment I just assume the person writing it has no experience using the product/system they are bashing or they are just a kid with no real experience of true computer usage, (If you've only ever used a windows based PC you have no real experience), either that or they are just jealous of people that can afford to buy and use an Xbox360, a PS3 and a Wii, that can afford to buy an iPhone to try it out and see if they like it and who don't blindly follow the crowd.

[LJKelley @ Jan 24th 2008 9:07PM]

And the Zune and Xbox are profitable :)

[vasireddy @ Jan 24th 2008 9:16PM]

Yup! thats gr8 news! and hopefully from now-on those profits will only increase.

Gud for MS. Keep it up guys!!.

[fawku @ Jan 24th 2008 9:14PM]

shocking that after all of the bad press and general negativity about Vista, they sell that many (bundled or packaged)! Shows how many lemmings there are, and they just go with the safe bet ...

[mik @ Jan 24th 2008 9:31PM]

hasnt that basically been what apple has been spewing in their ads for the past what?... 5 years - no viruses - it just works - blah blah.

[Nino @ Jan 24th 2008 9:16PM]

shouldn't it say 4th quarter not second?






Nino

[rhogan @ Jan 24th 2008 9:33PM]

No, every company starts their fiscal year at different times. Microsofts fiscal year ends on June 30th, thus these are microsofts 2nd quarter numbers. Every company does things a little differently. Apple for example, just reported their Q1 numbers, which ended on Dec. 29th.

[Nino @ Jan 24th 2008 9:50PM]

ahhh gotcha. didnt even realize that. thanks for clearing that up for me.






Nino

[muchu @ Jan 24th 2008 9:19PM]

I'm seriously sick of Engadget's bias towards Mac and against Windows. Seriously, the shot againt Vista in this post was not called for, and it just shows how biased this site really is.

I don't care which they like better, the point is that their elitist fanboy nonsense should not be spewing into their news posts.

[squirgle @ Jan 24th 2008 9:37PM]

Um, it's sort of their site isn't it? You can come here or not can't you? If you're so sick of it, um, there's a whole lot of internet out there. Oh, and by the way, I think it's hilarious how people act as though Microsoft is this poor, downtrodden company that always gets picked on and can't get a break. It's fucking Microsoft people. One of the most powerful, monopolistic, megacops in the history of man. They crush actual, poor, downtrodden companies like aluminum cans.

[muchu @ Jan 24th 2008 9:41PM]

Glad to see you like biased journalism with zero integrity.