As much as people seem to despise ballmer, I actually think he's done a pretty good job over the past few years. Sure, there's the whole windows 8 debacle (mainly due to the modification or removal (however you see this) of the start menu), but all of the recent projects ballmer has created under his belt after gates left have been only to advance the company forward for the future.

Honestly, I don't think there's anyone else more fit for the job at the helm of microsoft in such a sensitive transition period.

@above, how?

Xbox One. doesn't listen to fans, and that was what sparked this whole thing. They almost totally destroyed a major asset they have.

Zune....

Windows Phone came late and still is struggling to gain a market share. Anyone that says otherwise is Microsoft, which thinks its small percentage is actually good.

They are letting PC sales slip.

They are letting Google take over software....

The only really strong thing the company has done the past few years is Bing.

I used to friggin love Microsoft. I was always excited for a new OS, always excited for their new project, always said they were awesome (except for Xbox), but lately I've been excited about nothing....

xbox one isn't out yet, and ms have managed to remedy the major issues gamers wanted fixed before launch and considering that consoles are a 10+ year business, I don't see microsoft having a problem with that business. And with a $499 starting price, microsoft have more flexibility to make price cuts in the near future.

And about zune, I believe that the zune software was the first stepping stone to the modern UI (metro) that microsoft uses today in windows 8, windows phone 8, xbox one. Even though zune is dead, what it stood for helped microsoft differentiate themselves and their products in terms of design from competitors.

Windows Phone, while having a rough start with windows phone 7, has only been showing signs of rapid growth and sales with the release of windows phone 8 with nokia leading the way. Yes, wp has a small marketshare, but that only means that the platform has huge potential to make some significant strides in the fight against android and ios. And nokia and wp8 are especially hitting hard with lower-end phones, even though they run as buttery smooth as high-end devices such as lumia 920/925/928.

Yes, pc sales are slipping, but microsoft is seeing record windows sales. Now, that only tells me one thing. Microsoft's strategy in expanding to tablets and touch-centric devices for windows is working. And with pc's and laptops becoming more and more reliable and powerful these days, it doesn't surprise me that pc sales are in decline.

And google's android sales = easy profit/revenue for microsoft as google created android with items they do not own and deployed android without the permission of microsoft in regards to the patents that microsoft owns that are being used in android devices.

And yes, bing is making gains. Small gains, but gains nonetheless.

So, all in all, I believe microsoft are headed down a bright path. I just think that a good chunk of people are failing to see microsoft's vision and the amount of time it will take to see those efforts, controversial and radical, pay off.