[Rubber Duck]

I think with the dual threats of Google and Apple starting to encircle the Gate's Wagon Train, I think his hand is going to be more or less forced now on a bid for Yahoo. Microsoft might have the Revenue streams at the moment, but the product range seems to be a complete mismatch of bits and bobs, none of which has massive market appeal. Above all they seem to require a big intake of talented people with a new perspective. The question is whether Yahoo is in fact innovative enough itself to deliver.

From an non-technical perspective, Microsoft primary problem appears to be that it has been so powerful that the processors have been designed around the OS, rather than the other way around. I think this is ultimately leading it up an evolutionary blind alley.