To be fair the Xbox has been a spectacular success. Oh wait, wasn't there a gazillion dollar recall on that? When I'm bored I like to plot Apple Stock vs. Microsoft over time. Here it is from '00 when Balmer took over to today: https://skitch.com/nosillacat/e846n/aapl-vs-msft-00-12. 2100% growth vs. -32% for Microsoft. Oh - and Microsoft just reported it's first loss as a publicly traded company in its 26 year life (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/48248172/ns/business-us_business/#.UAjTLDGe7AI)