Google it out on the Bing field.

I'll continue to use Google through Firefox on my Windows laptop. Can't we all just get along.

Lol, couldn't help but think of this

MS has a long tradition of mercilessly crushing its allies each time it starts coveting their markets, if I were them I wouldn't trust it.

Except for the fact that the only viable desktop/laptop replacement tablet is the Surface Pro or one of the other Windows 8 Pro Tabs coming out. iOS and Android are great for quick stuff on the go, but for serious computer you need a real computer with a full desktop OS and right now Apple and Google don't have anything as kick ass as Windows 8 on a tablet.

--Sent from a Windowsw 8 PC.

Well it's more that, people used to buy a desktop+laptop, now they'll buy a laptop+tablet, that's one less sale for MS even though everyone will still need access to Windows for now.

What is keeping people on Windows is i) every computer from Dell or HP offering it - I think we will see non-Windows ARM devices creep up to the cheapest PC categories, ii) games - well if Steam is serious about porting and supporting all the big games that's huge, and iii) offices, which will eventually use a completely cloud service,which might be Office 365 but it might also be Google Docs, again any marketshare reduction from 90% is bad.

I'm saying MS will become the largest player in a merely competitive market to fulfill customer needs with different devices, rather than the ONLY option at present. 

I think Win8 on a tablet is competent but it is not exciting and we will see none of the Win8 family of products make any splash.

I do think I'm being realistic here, I would never have predicted this a year ago when MS looked unassailable.

Edit: I was just about to write that Blizzard might be a sticking point on the games part but:

http://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=news_item&px=MTI2ODE

I don't even

I read this quite a few times and it is not correct.

databases and Servers are highly profitable as well. The "Server and Tools" division posted a 7.5 billion USD profit for the last financial year. Expect MS to report about a close to 8 billion USD profit January, 24th.

War is a brewin'.

Let's be armed to the teeth.

I think he makes good sense. I am not saying what you wrote is wrong but the figures speak for themselves.

In 2010 the IDC reported that MS had a 73% server market share.  Windows server share is now about 50% and flat with about a 1% growth rate (April 2012).

http://www.osnews.com/story/23412/Windows_Increases_Lead_in_Server_Unit_Sales

http://www.dabcc.com/article.aspx?id=20146

Linux is growing mega fast and with the backing of some of the biggest companies on the planet. When the world's biggest search engine and online store use linux as their prime servers that is testament to it's reliablity and progress.

Now mysql is in the hands of Oracle that will put more pressure on MS SQL Server.

Companies are waking up to the fact that linux is a serious contender. Everything points to the developing world adopting Linux servers over Windows and that is where a hell of a lot of money is going to be made looking forward.

But yes, MS makes good profit from it's server and database.

It can kick more ass than Chuck Norris but it all comes down to the sales. Yes, I agree with you though.

MS needs to make sure that the "real computer" keeps it's head above water and in many ways that is why surface is what it is. A kind of hybrid.

A full blown Windows Desktop OS is far more profitable than it's Tablet OS, and when you are competing with a free open source tablet OS like Android it doesn't help.

I don't see the desktop going anywhere soon so MS revenue should be in a good place.

I have been hearing that since 1998. Just some anecdotal evidence: I work for a recruitment company and most of the jobs in the IT infrastructure business require knowledge with MS SQL Server. Linux is not on its way up in that department, especially when you consider the push to the cloud.

This one explains the Linux growth better:
http://www.eweek.com/c/a/Enterprise-Networking/Windows-Server-Sales-Flat-in-Q1-Compared-to-Linux-Models-IDC-705101/

I never said they rule the entire market, but 50.2 % is not that bad. And revenue for the division grew 8% YoY, profit grew 11.7%

http://www.microsoft.com/investor/EarningsAndFinancials/Earnings/PressReleaseAndWebcast/FY13/Q1/default.aspx

I just wanted to say that MS has more to offer than WIndows, Office and Xbox. The profit of Server and Tools division alone is about 60% of the whole profit Google generated last financial year.