Post-Ballmer Microsoft

Post-Ballmer Microsoft is not so bad.

Funny, Microsoft used to talk this way in the 90s when IE and Windows ruled the roost. While they are still strong, they do now appear to worry more about financial discipline. Worrisome predictor for today's darlings?

So you think that Microsoft is dead, because they have lost the leader role in invention. It's true, they have no popular initiation. But Microsoft used to steal the new technologies: they did it in Windows, in which they used the user interface inveted by Apple. Microsoft is following the technical engineering nowadays too, look at the view of XP and Vista. Microsoft realised, that an OS must be not only useful, but beautiful, too, and they followed this trend. And they have mixed it with the c

This is actually a feature of MSFT, and not a bug. (I’m not a MSFT apologist, and have had my issues with them too)They could have kept on the Ballmer path and been a Windows and Office company forever, milking the existing base. That path would have likely turned them into IBM. Less relevance, less R and D, and tons of share buybacks.Instead they bet the farm on emerging computing models. They pulled their money and top talent from the legacy products, and moved them into the new world.

They're literally Microsoft. They've used up their lifetime supply of goodwill in the 90s.

Microsoft got comfortable, bottom line. They made XP (which rocks so hard, btw) and then felt like they won and stopped innovating. The article points out that Ballmer had a blind spot because he wasn't a techie, which I think is very accurate. Once MS was winning, they decided they had XBOX to keep them afloat but didn't really continue innovating. Now they are struggling to catch up with the innovations other made during the MS comfortable-on-top period. Really, imo, they should re-release XP.

Please edit your comment to clarify what Microsoft lost its dominance in.

Microsoft, as usual, following other's footsteps. Kinda sad since they used to lead the game.

This is sad. Microsoft is now a late to market type company. They don't want to invent anymore. They just want to see a market thrive and then jump into it. They invest a lot of money and then can rule all. By last months quote that Apple is now worth more, it seems like Microsoft is losing its edge fast. I wouldn't be surprised in the next 20 years, Microsoft loses on a lot of other areas they try to jump into.

the history repeats itself - what microsoft did to ibm - google and apple are doing to microsoft - so to survive ms has to do the same what ibm did for survival - i.e. change in leadership, change in vision and change in path.... unless this happens ms is on the way Non-MS.