I have often wondered how anyone can take Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer seriously anymore. Since he took over from Bill Gates in 2000, the company has gone almost nowhere. Sure, profits are great, sales are decent considering the state of the PC industry (other than Apple of course), but pretty much every new initiative has […]

When I read that Yahoo! had just completed a major update to its online email system, I suddenly realized that I still had such an account; in fact, I’ve had one for years, although I rarely use it. Maybe that’s because I never regarded it as an essential part of my online communications. It’s not […]

You could see it this past quarter, when Apple, for the first time, posted higher profits than Microsoft; total sales were already ahead. I could almost imagine Steve Jobs and his crew applauding and cheering when Microsoft’s financials were originally announced. It was a long time coming. Apple’s ascendency was most obvious last year when […]

I realize that Microsoft, despite being second to Apple in tech industry stock market cap, remains a behemoth to be reckoned with. But it’s also curious to see how the company arrived at that position despite remaining totally oblivious to pop culture, and what regular people want or expect. Perhaps Microsoft’s most successful marketing campaign […]