If any company – software, hardware, hi tech, low tech, distribution, services, doesn’t matter – rolled out products the way Microsoft does they would be out of business in less than a year. But Microsoft comes with a safety net that they have managed to build over the past 20 years. They don’t need to release internet browsers that support web standards, let alone the standards that they helped create. They just need to push out a new version and call it a day.
Internet Explorer 10 and 11 are crap. Using either is the equivalent of having an @aol.com email address.
If Google or Mozilla had released these resplendent pieces of software they would be crucified by the technorati and likely even the public. But because it’s Microsoft it’s almost as if it is expected. There is no one surprised by their behavior.
And yet they still maintain the majority of the marketshare because they are the easy solution. This is why their stock has gone no where even as their revenues increased. This is why they are viewed poorly in the realm of tech and public opinions. This is why they are 2nd tier technology and no longer associated with innovation or “cool”. Hell, even Playstation has been able to steal back hearts and minds in the console battles because of how poorly Microsoft released the XBox One (XBone, really?).
If you are running a business that is in dominant position today and looking to still be there tomorrow just do the opposite of what Microsoft would do.