Nothing can get me started faster than a debate about how “If Windows 8 fails to penetrate the mobile market, MS is in serious trouble.”
I wholeheartedly agree that mobile expansion is an essential part of Microsoft's plan, but if Windows 8 and WP never manage to take a strong hold in the mobile market is Microsoft on the brink of ruin? Heavens, no.
The Microsoft of the 90s would have had a death kneel almost instantly if Windows would have failed back than, but for those who didn't realize this: We aren't in the 90s anymore and times have changed.
Microsoft has tons of very lucrative branches to rest on, and although Windows is a very important branch, it isn't the only money-maker it has around.
So what else is there? For starters Microsoft productivity programs like MS Office (although this HAS been around since the 90s and earlier). To follow that up, we also have Microsoft's Xbox, licensing earnings from Android and other Windows-like Oses, and search, just to name a few.
Not too mention, it is nearly impossible for Windows 8 and WP7+ to fail entirely, they will likely still establish a small niche (at the very least), that still adds to the companies massive profit margins.
The biggest changes from 2000 and beyond, would be Xbox and search. Xbox is evolving rapidly into more than just a gaming venture and is further pushing Microsoft into the TV business.
I fully anticipate that future Xbox products will have full-functioning DVRs and online-based TV services that put even the likes of Dish Network and DirecTV to shame.
As for search? Back in the days of MSN Search and other such endeavors, search was a laughable thing from Microsoft (at least in my personal opinion).
