Anybody less entrenched would have folded by now. Anything less widespread would have gone where the dinosaurs sallied forth eons ago. A deadly mix of global economic recession and a universally despised product should have killed Microsoft’s Windows platform a hundred times over the past couple of years or so.

Add to the conflagration the constant nipping at its heels by the pro-Linux crowds and Mac faithfuls, made worse by the antitrust barbs the Seattle-based software giant has been receiving from its competitors and market regulators, and Microsoft, by all dictates of logic, should have been banished, forever consigned to where former monopolies usually end up.

A mere footnote in the IT world’s history, and a warning to other vendors with monopolistic ambitions, that is what the company should be by now.

But, no, the company and its Windows brand remain strong, and are in fact poised for growth, ready to capitalize and continue leveraging its strength once the market starts showing even the faintest signs of recovery.

The question is, and this is something that must have been keeping executives from rival companies awake at night, if a perfect storm, such as the one Microsoft has been sailing through for quite some time now could not topple the company from its perch, how would the company’s rivals fare once the global economy gets done with its downward trajectory?

And with its soon-to-be-released Windows 7 operating system generally hailed as a potential savior for the moribund PC market, can anybody blame the world’s leading chipmakers, Intel and AMD, from outshouting each other in proclaiming that their respective microprocessor lineups are compliant and compatible with the latest iteration of the world’s favorite OS.

Not Cool, So What?

Windows users are often described as bargain-driven, bumbling idiots by Mac fanatics and open-source software proponents, a picture reinforced time and again by Apple’s slick and cool television commercials, and repeated as mantras by Steve Jobs’ followers. Yes, PC guys and gals are not the coolest IT users around. Only a Windows user would appropriate his computer’s CD tray to hold his coffee cup.

Despite this un-cool image that Windows users have to live with, millions of computer users, both business and consumers, rely on Windows to perform their computing tasks, or get in touch with their family and friends. As of last count by a number of market research firms, Windows users vastly outnumber the Linux and Mac armies combined.

Windows XP users, those soon to be orphans, account for more than 60 percent of the total number of computer users; Vista owners, most of them dissatisfied or imagine themselves to be, represent another 30 percent. The remaining 10 percent or so would cover the open source and Mac users.

20-Peso Commercials

A couple of television commercials peddling a certain brand of ice cream cone illustrates how hard times have become. The TV spots, one set in a burger joint and the other one set in a barbershop, graphically shows how low consumers’ purchasing power has sunk. I remember when I was three decades younger, back in my hometown, when having a 20-peso bill felt like winning the lottery.

A bottle of sarsaparilla cost less than a peso. Another peso would give you a couple sticks of banana cue. Another peso and a half would buy you a movie ticket, with a balcony seat to boot. Those were the good old days.

Ouch! I’m starting to sound like my grandfather did when I was decades younger. I miss those days. I miss my grandpa.

That’s all for the meantime, folks. Join me again next time as we keep on watching IT.