Misconception. Gates doesn't run the day to day but he certainly sets the strategic direction. And Ballmer is not the "suit" you may think he is and understands a lot more technical issues than one would think. He's also motivated and smart enough to call in his experts when he's unclear on an issue.

To call Ballmer Larry Ellison is an insult to Ballmer, IMHO.

In fact, look at how many presidents MS went through. That's because of the overwhelming presence and ultimate control by Gates.

I can't argue with the possibility that MS may be in decline but that may be more due to changes in the enterprise models of the industry and technological evolution. Also, Vista appears to have been "rushed" and most of the really cool aspects of it were canned in deference to time.


>Bill Gates is no longer in charge of day to day operations at MS.
>Now MS is run by a non-coder/financial/biz guy....
>This is Larry Ellison in a different colour suit.
>I think MS is slowly declining with Gates no longer in charge.
>
>Wadaya think?