When Microsoft made a bid to buy Yahoo!, I said that the company was acting out of weakness rather than strength. First, Microsoft lags Google in Internet technology. Second, "cloud computing"
applications could eventually replace some of the operating systems and
software that Microsoft sells. Third, Microsoft's products simply
aren't that strong.

Complaining about Microsoft products has
always been geeks' idea of a sport – the only one we don't get picked
last for. Personally, I've always used a Mac since it's simpler. I can
use a PC, but no one has ever explained to me exactly why it has to be
so complicated in the first place. My toaster is reliable and easy to
use, and I expect no less from my computer. Given its complexity and
computing power requirements, using Microsoft Windows is like making
toast in an oven – you can do it, but there's got to be an easier way.

Now
that Microsoft faces more competition – from "cloud computing" Google
applications, open-source alternatives and a resurgent Apple – it
should be putting out the best products possible. But its long-awaited Vista operating system
suffers the same problem as many of the company's products: It hogs too
much computing power to work well on some machines. Last year, some Vista buyers formed a class action suit
charging that machines marked "Windows Vista Capable" can't really run
Vista Premium, which offers the system's most substantive advantages.
For example, that fancy graphical interface that looks so great in ads
won't render smoothly on "Windows Vista Capable" machines. Oops.

The only way Microsoft could look any worse would be if they knew about
these problems in advance, which – double oops! – they did. As outlined
in a recent New York Times article,
the lawsuit uncovered some internal Microsoft documents that imply that
some company executives had voiced doubts about its decision to
overpromise and underdeliver. The idea that Microsoft isn't exactly
honest isn't exactly be news. But it's shocking that the company still
acts like a monopoly – Buy it: You have to – when it's rapidly becoming
the underdog.

Unlike the real world, where "Broken Window Theory"
predicts problems, the digital world has few barriers that prevent
people from moving elsewhere, and Google's products are only a few
mouse clicks away. Microsoft used to talk about other companies and say
it would eat their lunch. But as Microsoft expands — into gaming, music
and Internet advertising — executives there need to keep a better eye
on their basic business. Otherwise Google will drink their milkshake.