Earlier this week I posted some news about Microsoft and the EU coming head to head over anti-competition issues. I also made reference to the question of whether or not Microsoft products are all that good anyway.

Nowhere more so than in online, websites and Search Engines can we see how far Microsoft lags behind. With a measly 4% share of the UK search market, people are voting with their mouse in opting (mostly) for Google instead.

What’s interesting is that Microsoft have just released their trading figures, which have been analysed a great deal in lots of places.

And it appears that not only do we, the users, not like Microsoft’s search products. They’re also costing the company money. Lots of it. In fact, Microsoft have lost $500m in their online business in the last 3 months, and that’s off the back of revenues of more than $850m.

Do you think that they should cut their losses and stick to desktop software? Or do they need to make online work because the next generation of software will be ‘in the cloud’, just like this website builder?

Update 23.01.09: Interestingly, Google have just released their trading figures too. Their revenue is up 18% year on year, at $5.7bn for the quarter. Now there’s a company who knows how to make money online! 

Leave us a comment and let us know.