@Reasonable & @bdbdbd:
I agree that Google will be a threat to MS. I just reread my post and noticed I must have edited a sentence out where I said google wasn't directly affected Microsoft with a bolded "yet".
Oracle has supposedly been a threat to Microsoft for over 10 years now. They're there, but they don't seem to be making much ground in any meaningful way against Microsoft.
We have seen a big jump in what webpages can do with browsers implementing javascript's httprequest object. However, I don't think we'll be seeing a move to a Web based OS any time soon. This may start to effect Microsoft in 5 to 10 years, but at this time, it certainly does not. That's also to say that Microsoft will not be there developing their own alternatives. They have an embedded Windows OS that could run on STBs. Hell, Microsoft predicted the move to slimmer web only devices years ago when they bought WebTV; just seems the world wasn't ready then. Who's to say you will not be accessing Microsoft's servers with a Microsoft STB to access the web apps?
These are things Microsoft will need to and is adapting towards. So I agree with this vision of the future, but I do not agree that this will effect Microsoft in the foreseeable future. It certainly isn't effecting them now.
EDIT: I think the big news, and something that Microsoft must be thinking about, is HP's linux based OS they are developing. Dell's been offering Ubuntu, but HP could potentionally be creating something that could really give Windows a run for it's money. Not that I'm discrediting Ubuntu, but as it stands I don't see it moving in too fast. HP has the potential to deliver a product that could truely compete.
