Microsoft Died at the IDF

I don't mean that you won't be able to get Windows for the next several years, or that very large enterprises won't still be sending Microsoft a lot of money for a while. What I do mean is that Microsoft's death spiral, that I've been talking about for a while, is likely no longer stoppable. Microsoft might live on as IBM did after its fall, but their plunge, destroying Windows and its entire ecosystem, is now pretty much a given.

Take a look at this slide from the second keynote at Intel's Developer Forum Wednesday. You can be certain that the ordering is not an accident. Look where Windows is!

Now you might say that I'm making too much out of one slide. But things like this went on the entire event. Simply put, Intel and the OEM's have rebelled. They have made it clear they are not waiting for Microsoft to fix its Windows 8 mess... they are moving on to other platforms _now_. They haven't abandoned Windows yet, but are making it very clear that could happen.

I'm far from alone in believing Intel was sending that message. Consider these articles (I've shown some excerpts, but I strongly encourage you to read the full articles to get the full effect):

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