Microsoft's 4 most disappointing products and services

The Microsoft ecosystem feels a scrap shaky these days. Across mobile, PCs, Xbox, communication, and entertainment services, aspects of the Microsoft "life" have either become totally outpaced by rivals or have been shut down.

At one point, information technology felt like Microsoft was on the cusp of delivering a calculating ecosystem that could support every aspect of your digital life. Those days are probably in the past.

Microsoft has a ton of great products, including Surface, Xbox, and Office. However, information technology also has a diaspora of poorly-nurtured acquisitions, neglected services, and in some cases, only weak investments. Here are some of the nearly notable examples.

Skype

Skype desktop (left) vs. Skype UWP (right)

Skype's legacy will likely exist a lesson in total mismanagement, every bit rival apps and services strip out and detach practically any reason to open this increasingly weak program.

Skype's legacy will likely exist a lesson in total mismanagement.

Skype used to be a leader and innovator in internet communication, arguably delivering the world'southward first stable video calling service for consumers. Skype is a household name and a huge brand, known across the world. In recent years, all the same, its relevance has been macerated.

From Facebook's Messenger and WhatsApp, to Snapchat, Google Hangouts, and Discord, several communication services have grown to beat out Skype at its own game. The Skype squad has been painfully slow to react, and information technology has gotten to the point where fifty-fifty Microsoft's lightweight GroupMe IM app provides a improve messaging experience.

Skype on Android and iOS is miserably slow compared to rival services. Skype's features and designs are maddeningly inconsistent to the bespeak of total incoherency across desktop, UWP, and phones. Part of the trouble with Skype stems from its outdated messaging, which is still miserably slow to update when moving from platform to platform.

Discord in particular has risen to prominence not only as a competent cross-platform messaging and calling solution but also equally a tool for building communities, consummate with a huge ecosystem of bots and other plugins. Oh, and of course, it's way faster than Skype.

That being said, Skype generally nonetheless holds the crown for video calling reliability. Information technology likewise offers inexpensive global phone calls, which are highly useful for some territories. But these facts won't salvage it forever. Skype is 1 service that really needs a total overhaul.

Movies & Television set

For the about role, I'yard pretty happy with Movies & Tv set. The service works well on Windows 10 and Xbox One, and subsequently a serial of updates, it has quite a functional and attractive interface. The issues I have with Movies & Tv set stem from poor investments.

A flake of extra love could elevate Movies & Television set from beingness a "me-too" media service.

With Windows 10 Mobile finer expressionless, there's no way for those jumping ship to Android and iOS to access their Movies & Boob tube content, as Microsoft hasn't yet bothered to provide an app. This strikes me as particularly odd since the Groove Music Android and iOS apps were fairly decent.

What'south worse is the manner content is handled. Despite the 4K button Microsoft is doing with the Xbox One 10, Movies & Idiot box is sorely lacking when it comes to 4K content, especially outside of the US. Movies & TV also isn't part of Disney'south Movies Anywhere consortium for cross-platform licensing, although nosotros've heard that Redmond is in discussions to join.

A bit of extra beloved could elevate Movies & TV from being a "me-also" media service to something that could serve Microsoft users everywhere.

Cortana

Harman/Kardon'south Invoke speaker is the only defended Cortana speaker, and it's US-only.

I've written adequately extensively about how bad Cortana is outside of the US, but the situation continues to exist a miserable affair. Frankly, it's not great if y'all're within the United states of america either.

Cortana in the UK hasn't seen a meaningful update in years, and users in other territories have suffered worse. Cortana also isn't available in several English-speaking territories, despite being available in the U.S. and UK, which only seems lazy.

Cortana has a pathetic IoT ecosystem when compared to Amazon's Alexa and others. And while the situation is improving, particularly in the US, information technology might already exist also belatedly for Cortana to gain meaningful mindshare.

If Microsoft truly wants to position itself as an A.I. and cloud company, it needs to do something to ameliorate the "face up" of that ecosystem. At the moment, Cortana is picayune more than than an embarrassment.

Windows x Microsoft Shop

Here's another one I've written fairly extensively about, and we can only hope that following the recent reorganization of Windows that the situation volition better.

Although the situation should amend as Progressive Web Apps (PWA) mature, the situation every bit pertains to Universal Windows Platform (UWP) apps is pretty deplorable. Nigh apps in the Store are either poorly made, abandonware, or simply ported via Centennial, missing out on a lot of core Windows 10 features. The situation has certainly been getting better, though, with Spotify arriving on the platform, and some indie apps like Kodi and paint.cyberspace.

Things aren't much meliorate on the game side either, with few PC games hitting the platform. The games that are in that location are pretty awesome, however, with many supporting Xbox Play Anywhere cross-platform play and purchasing.

It'south too some other service that lacks global accomplish.

Getting into a multiplayer game via titles installed in the Windows 10 app store is a painful feel when compared to Xbox. Users have too reported problems when it comes to downloading big games on launch day for years, although the experience seems to have improved.

It'southward also some other service that lacks global reach. The United states of america store carries ebooks and more than licenses for movies and Television set shows than the rest of the world, whose users are again treated every bit secondary past Microsoft.

Finally, the whole app but needs more smoothen. App library management is a chore. The search function is temperamental at all-time. And information technology's simply poor to browse, offering merely basic information at a glance.

Things can only become improve ... right?

There are enough of other Microsoft products and services I take gripes with but almost of them are minor problems. I'grand also disappointed that the visitor shuttered Groove, killed Windows 10 Mobile, and concluded Kinect, only all of that is in the past at present.

Despite all of this and what you may take heard, Microsoft isn't leaving consumers behind (at least, non even so), and the visitor has fabricated moves to improve the situations outlined to a higher place. Windows direction has been reorganized across the board, Cortana has a new projection leader, and Microsoft only announced a $5 billion investment in IoT. Skype also recently picked up its own Insider programme, which should lead to more feedback-led evolution.

Microsoft is a huge company, and turning the beast around is oft a long, arduous job. It remains to be seen whether the products listed above truly ameliorate, only at that place's plenty of reason to be optimistic.

Over to you

What products and services from Microsoft are y'all well-nigh disappointed in? Do you lot agree with my take on the ones mentioned here? Let me know in the comments.

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Source: https://www.windowscentral.com/four-most-disappointing-microsoft-services-and-products

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