Forbes: In 1997 a struggling Apple turned to rival Microsoft for help, and Microsoft invested $150 million into the company and brought its Office desktop productivity software to the Mac.
On Wednesday, Apple's ( AAPL - news - people ) market capitalization surpassed that of Microsoft ( MSFT - news - people ), making the once-struggling Cupertino, Calif., computer company the most valuable technology company on Earth. And that's just the latest sign of a question that has been whispered about in Silicon Valley for months now: Is Microsoft irrelevant.
Microsoft certainly need to pick up their act. Innovation has slowed, and the only real exciting news recently was the launch of Windows 7 and Windows Phone 7.