The mysteriously sideburn-free, former Tiger Beat centerfold Bill Gates is finally being put out to pasture, with screaming ape Steve Ballmer stepping up to the challenge with freshly-dampened pitstains and a glossy scalp. Alas, as the Darth Vader-like egg-throne closes over Ballmer's kindly visage, rumblings are already afoot! Do you have the chops, Ballmer?!

"The direction they've laid out has not impressed investors," says Hall, chief operating officer of Fredric E. Russell Investment Management. "We need the old Microsoft with the direction and vision they had - Gates's vision."

Terrifying proclaimations from experts in the field. The Sydney Morning Herald questions Ballmer's spending, MS's apparent lack of focus, and general tooth-length of late. When was the last time you were truly excited by an impending Microsoft product? Yeah, me too. Eliza gauger

Microsoft Losing Its Edge [Sydney Morning Herald]

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