Microsoft screwed up with the Surface tablet...

[RVDondaPC]

ECM said:

I agree w/ the OP, BUT is anyone surprised by this? This is another, desperate, 'me too!' attempt by Ballmer Co., which has proven, repeatedly, that it simply can't make money outside of their core competency of OS' and Office apps. They *need* new blood in this company *desperately* and until they get rid of the dinosaurs steering the ship, repeatedly, onto the rocks, it won't happen at the top which is where it is in most desperate need of a transfusion.

 (And please: don't even bring up the XBOX brand as a "success"*--it's only a success in the sense that it, finally, after losing untold billions, is turning small profits. From a biz standpoint, the XBOX brand is another loser but in light of things like Zune (and the pile of acquisitions that turned to ****), and perhaps Surface, it's a freaking overnight success story.)

*This is not a knock on the games, so settle down fanboys.

XBOX is now a profitable, world wide known brand. Microsoft can now also use it to leverage it with their other products/Window devices. It helps to diversify Microsoft's protfolio. It has a large and engaging userbase. And it also helped deleverage Sony and other companies from completely taking over the living room space and hurting it's Windows division, which was it's only real goal at birth. How can you label it, not a success?  Because a company had to invest capital at it's inception to get it off the ground? That makes no sense. We might as well label Google buying Motorola, not a success either. Since it spent $12 Billion buying it and it lost half a billion dollars last quarter. Progress and time means nothing about success to you, lets just label things failures squarely on the initial cost of something.