The Decline of Microsoft?

Wow -- there are several recent tough commentaries on Microsoft's future, likley precipitated by the "uniqueness" of Windows 8 and/or its slow take off, plus given the continued juggernauts of Apple/iOS and Google/Android. 

Dan Lyons in readwrite: "Microsoft 'Blinded By Its Own Hallucinations' And 'Turning Into A Sideshow'" --

I have written my share of blistering articles about Microsoft over the years, but I just read this one by market research analyst Roger Kay and all I can say is, "Wow." Kay has been around for a long time. He used to run the PC research group at IDC, and now has his own firm, called Endpoint Technologies Associates. The point is, he knows his stuff. And he knows Microsoft incredibly well. And boy did he just go ballistic in a column published on Forbes.com.

The gist of his article is, Let's stop beating around the bush and just say it - Windows 8 is a dud. So is Windows Phone 8. Everyone in the world knows this, except Microsoft. 

"Microsoft has reached an Orwellian impasse, in which it cannot tell the truth - even to itself," Kay writes. "It is blinded by its own hallucinations about how the market is operating. The result is that its public pronouncements entirely lack credibility."

Continued at link.

Here is aforementioned article by Kay in Forbes: "Microsoft Is Fast Turning Into A Sideshow"

And, here, Fast Company weighs in -- "5 Lessons Microsoft Must Learn To Compete In 2013;" -- in summary -- 

1. Commit to innovation -- stick with changes introduced (including Windows 8). 
2. It's risky to allow your hardware partners to deliver your innovation. 
3. Have an ecosystem. 
4. Deliver the apps! 
5. Build credible excitement about your direction.