Think of a number: 82%. What does that number mean to you? How about Apple’s share of the MP3 player market?

And believe it or not, that’s up from 64% a year ago. This level of dominance is comparable to the stranglehold that Microsoft has on the OS market.

Read about it at: iPod Market Share: 82%.

That sort of comparison puts the facts in an interesting light: Who thinks Microsoft will be losing its OS market share anytime soon? Come on, even the most die-hard Apple fans have to acknowledge that Microsoft can simply go on autopilot to maintain its share in the near future and that only its distant future can even begin to be questioned.

Granted, Microsoft’s dominance is in a market that is settled and mature, whereas the digital music market is volatile and still developing. Nevertheless, if Apple can hold on a little while longer, the naysayers will be at a loss as Apple’s relentless hold on the market grows increasingly apparent.

When you were growing up, did you ever have to deal with The Jealous Kid? It didn’t matter how good he was at something; it wasn’t good enough unless he was better than you at whatever you were good at. It didn’t matter what cool toys he had; they weren’t good enough unless he had the better version of your toys. And what good did The Jealous Kid ever do for anybody? He had no creativity because he just stole whatever the other children wanted or had, so he did nothing but wreak agitation and malcontent. That may seem like harsh language, but think about it: Doesn’t that sound a bit like Microsoft’s business strategy?

For the most part, I readily include myself in the group of people who are sick of hearing people complain about Microsoft. As if any of it is breaking news. Nevertheless, I was just flabbergasted by Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer’s latest statement.

I read about it at MacWorld: Ballmer: ‘No way’ Apple will win digital media war. He said, “There is no way you can get there with Apple,” and proceeded to explain why Microsoft would beat Apple, Sony, and others in the digital media war.

Granted, I understand that there is big money in the digital media revolution, and leadership in this arena is important for any large computer/software company. But I am seriously growing tired of Microsoft chasing after the other children, trying to steal their toys because it has tired of its own. Among others, Microsoft has done this in the operating system, productivity suite, web browser, and game console arenas. You can even see Microsoft metaphorically dropping its toy in stagnant indifference as it stalks its latest target: For instance, Microsoft has let its operating system and web browser projects slip while it divides its focus yet again by pursuing the digital media crowd. Sure, Microsoft has vowed to work on improving these different systems as needed, but results have been scant. If you consider the Jealous Kid business strategy, it really is no amazing coincidence that Microsoft isn’t seeing significant results in improving the arenas that it has already comprehensively clinched (consider the operating system, web browser, or productivity suite arenas), whereas the arenas that it has not yet done so experienced amazing output (consider the XBox). This fact is further fueled by Microsoft’s renewed zeal to improve Internet Explorer, something in which Microsoft had expressed very little interest before IE’s market share began seriously dropping due to consumer discontent.

How very business-like; how very detrimental to the industry. Just like The Jealous Kid.

This is just a quick note that Virtual PC 7 for the Mac has finally arrived.

I found out about it here: eWeek: Microsoft Releases Virtual PC 7.

It is very nice to read that Microsoft managed to eek out between 10%-30% more speed in this version, making it an upgrade worth considering. I’m sure the upper end of that percentage range is reserved for G5’s, since VPC 7 is now optimized for G5. Nevertheless, any speed improvement is welcome.

This is particularly exciting since Microsoft will be making Virtual PC 7 part of the Microsoft Office Suite, Professional Edition, as indicated in eWeek’s article, Office 2004 for Mac Hits Store Shelves.