Actually Microsoft's cloud services are HIPAA compliant. According to the article, it includes Office365 in addition to Azure. Link: http://www.eweek.com/c/a/Health-Care-IT/Microsoft-Adds-HIPAA-Compliance-in-Windows-Azure-for-Cloud-Health-Data-446671/

>> iPod was not well-received until the third generation (2003) when a few redesigns were made and iTunes took off.

Remember - this was ALSO around when they released iTunes for the PC. AND had the über-hip silhouettes dancing with white earbuds marketing campaign. We still see vestiges of this now. Marketing, marketing, marketing.

>> iPhone had (relatively) abysmal sales until the end of the second generation, after at least one OS upgrade....

Yes, and that's also about when the prices dropped on the iPhone as well. Remember, people desperately wanted the iPhone from day one, but didn't want to pay an unsubsidized (or minimally subsidized) price for the iPhone.
For what it's worth: I agree fixing products is important and will eventually impact consumer purchasing, but I think marketing and "Shiny" is far more important.

Because of the merch out there... Angry Birds T-Shirts / "Board Games" / Snacks / pillows / stuffed animals... They make far more there than they do on the game itself.

I don't think so.

Remember SmartGlass, announced at E3? I think this is the patent. Smartglass is a virtual game controller, and it is announced for Windows 8 tablets, Android, and iOS. So, perhaps a $199.00 Kindle Fire could be a controller.

I'd disagree - The worst CEO of all time is Jerry Yang. Elop took a gamble (and appears to be losing miserably). Yang demolished his stock price simply because he "didn't want Darth Vader buying his company."

If Yang would have sold Yahoo to Microsoft, Microsoft would be in even worse condition AND Yahoo's shareholders would have been thrilled.

It has been this way for some time - At least as of a few months ago. That message isn't related to what's happening now.

For Microsoft, this isn't so much as a betrayal, as it is survival. Microsoft has spend decades relying upon third-parties innovating hardware in order to sell Windows Licenses. And, especially of late, those third-parties have failed. With the mobile market taking off and those third parties having mediocre mobile hardware AT BEST, Microsoft has no choice than to make a product. Maybe, it will diminish into a mere reference design, but only if those third parties actually get to serious work. This should be a wake up call for HP, Dell, Lenovo, etc., to "innovate or die." Of course, if Microsoft has signed agreements saying they'd never create a competing device, it IS downright betrayal.

It's the same law which allows some rather obnoxious Tea Party members stand outside polling places shouting about their concerns. Yes, this is America - those laws work for both sides.

I didn't say that Zune was bought out by Microsoft. Zune is/was an MP3 player / service that was initially collaborated on with Toshiba.

That, my friend, would be called government regulation of the internet by the advertising industry. I can't see a law like this actually passing the House, after the lobbyists confer with their "investments."

They're opposed to it, because it is perceived that if "Do Not Track" is the default, advertising companies would simply ignore the setting and track people anyway.

Maybe this goes towards what you mean about advertising, but Microsoft let everyone else control the conversation about Zune.. Letting it be the butt of everyone's jokes.. At it's prime - it had THE BEST online service: curated rotating themed playlists, "School" for people who wanted to learn more about a specific genre, complete with different "guest professors", and a "Smart DJ" system before Apples.. What good is a product, with awesome features, if not a damn person knows about it, or has the completely wrong idea about it?

Like it or not - Android was also a "me-too" product that was playing catch-up to Apple. And now Android has larger marketshare on mobile phones than Apple. And, counting the Kindle Fire, Android is a respected competitor to iOS on the tablet front (30%-ish marketshare isn't bad at all). Microsoft would do well to play "catch-up" and gain marketshare, instead of giving it up.

I think that was a tactic to keep this project secret. If anything DID leak out about "Surface" most people would think "oh, that big thing?, yeah, ok.."

Cheers - After years of being read-only, I actually went and got my first UID just to respond to this. I have to take issue with your "crappy advertising campaign" regarding xbox. Xbox had some awesome advertising campaigns when it released.. Specifically the 360. Standoff - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n0VOM7e5Hug Jump In - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GFATqCfmgDM&feature=results_video&playnext=1&list=PL582758959394B8FC (If you're just talking about the original, then I agree - I can't remember anything ads from that) The key to them being successful with this is marketing, marketing, marketing. They've made a solid play with this announcement: there is positive media buzz and down-right optimism. But if they don't keep repeating the message, they're done. Case in point: I work downtown in a major US city. I can't go two blocks without seeing at least two iPad ads (be it on building sides, bus stops, etc). If Microsoft can't push Surface just as hard, barely anyone will remember the device when it's FINALLY available for purchase.