Leveling the scales

A friend of mine just sent me a link to an article on ZDnet about how Google is giving Microsoft a run for their money. Microsoft is being forced to reinvent themselves in order to keep pace. Some in the Linux community look at an article like this, and see the giant beginning it's decent. However, I don't see evidence like this as evidence that Microsoft is finished. Microsoft isn't going anytime soon, nor would I want them to.

Fair competition keeps us on our toes. What I see is a leveling of the scales. When you grow as large as Microsoft it becomes difficult to stay agile. It is an inevitability. We may even see a day when Microsoft begins to have offshoots, that can grow on their own.

One thing that Microsoft can't seem to let go of is associating everything back to the Microsoft name. Making it part of the borg. They incessantly purchase other companies or start new projects, immediately roll it into Windows, and re-brand it. They hang on to that association like the egotistical old man that names his own children after himself with the thought that this will make him live forever.