Microsoft and Trust

I’m going to say, right up front, that’s I’m not sure what I’m about to say is universally true. It is something that I’ve been thinking recently, though, so this is more of a “feeler post” to see if these sentiments are more widely shared.

I think that Microsoft has lost a great deal of credibility. It used to be that when I’d think of the software giant, I would think that they’re an unstoppable powerhouse. Lately though, I think of them as one failure after another, and that they’re constantly trying to play catch-up with others.

This perception, in turn, has led to having absolutely no trust in them. What I mean here is that if Microsoft released the coolest web 2.0 service tomorrow, I probably wouldn’t bother with it. If they bought Twitter, or Facebook (completely hypothetical here, but I’m not the first one to suggest it), I’d probably stop using them. I don’t know why, and it’s probably irrational to a great degree, but more and more, I find myself wanting to put distance between my computing activities and Microsoft.

When I see those ads for “Sync”, Microsoft’s bluetooth automobile setup, I instantly think of all the jokes that used to float around about if vehicles ran Windows, you would have to pull over and restart your vehicle every couple of hours just to keep driving (it dates back to the lack of protected memory in Windows 95/98).

Have I just become a bigger Apple fan-boy then I ever expected? Anyone else think that MS is having some PR problems? Is there a general perception that Microsoft = Failure?