Great points. I think that part of what microsoft doesn't understand is that it's no longer completely about the bottom line. Customer satisfaction is the driving force of the web 2.0 movement, and while I think that microsoft is hardly dead, it needs to evolve a great deal (basically reiterating what Paul said). I disagree that the desktop is dead though, I think that many people overestimate the capabilities of the of the web as it is today (give it a few more years). This might just be me overreaching and being completely wrong, but I believe that desktops will have a greater role in the far future because people will be able to host and manage their own slices of the internet. In a few years the desktop will be the equivalent of a glorified facebook profile and weblog hosted by the individual, and the user experience will be something of an integrated desktop/internet environment with web 2.0 companies reduced to widgets downloaded onto the desktop. Maybe. Thanks for the good essay Paul.