[citation][nom]jfby[/nom]I think this answers the question 'is Microsoft a dead question' for the short term. I'm looking forward to the next five years to see how Microsoft navigates the near term consumer tech market.[/citation]
They never asked if Microsoft was dead. The question was "is Microsoft a dying brand?" and no matter how much hate I will certainly get, I think it's a perfectly valid question. Microsoft is not a dying corporation and won't be for a very long time but you can argue that it's a dying BRAND. Like it or not, when you hear "Microsoft" you don't think "innovation". Think of the oh-so-hated Apple for example. You might not like the iPod, iPad, iPhone or whatever but they all sell like crazy worldwide and people instantly think of these relatively innovative things they put out when they hear "Apple". Microsoft is more powerful than Apple as a CORPORATION, but Apple is certainly a more recognizable brand. Unfortunately Microsoft does a terrible job trying to keep it's name significant (not it's products: Office, Windows, which are old but still crazy popular and will likely be for decades).