Look at iTunes. $.99 per song, which many people can afford. No silly DRM on the MP3s (at least the later ones).

It's *easy*, convenient, and cheap to get a new song.
It's easy, convenient, and...well...affordable to get a new album there.

I don't buy much music, but when I do generally I start looking on iTunes.

When I want to buy a video game? Steam. Fast, easy, convenient, and because I refuse to spend more than $10 except for /very/ exceptional games, cheap.

Make movies that easy/cheap, and I'll buy them too.

Make ebooks that easy/cheap, and I'll buy them. (I've bought from fictionwise, Kindle, Baen books, and a few other online books stores (at least those that don't try to charge more for an ebook than they do a paper book.))

DRM is never good for the consumer. It never makes things easier, cheaper, faster. I never gives me more choice. It's created by the old-school 'forced scarcity' model that simply doesn't apply on the internet.

In that situation, your art-producing friends have lost out on my money, because my choice is to keep my choice, and not buy DRMed crap.

Microsoft screwed up with their redesign of Windows 8 and lousy integration...I don't even want to pirate Windows 8.

Then they screwed up with the attempting to tie Office to a single PC for life. As a person who just had a computer short out, and who might have to replace the left-hand-side of the computer, my definition of 'single PC' and Microsoft's is different.

Then there's online-office. What? You expect me to use office ONLINE? No thanks.

It's now XBox's turn for Microsoft to screw up.

ATI has come out and said there won't be another DirectX. Does Microsoft /really/ want to give away gaming, the only reason to still have a PC in the home?

The modern Windows Phone can't be counted, because it never really happened...and same with Windows RT.

Maybe their next mis-step is something in the back office. Exchange? Maybe they'll implement a per-message fee.

I just don't see it. Why do the shareholders still support Balmer?

Just for fun, no company worth more than $100K should be allowed to own a patent (or copyright).

Now *that* will spur creation of new ideas, not hoarding a ridiculous legal battles that clog the system.

Patent trolls: dead.
Greedy companies: dead.
Small companies: in with a fighting chance

Wasn't that the point in the first place?