The Death of Microsoft: How Google, Ajax, and Apple Killed a Giant

In 2007, the author realized Microsoft was no longer the fearsome software giant it once was. The rise of Google, the emergence of web-based Ajax technology, the proliferation of broadband internet, and Apple's resurgence all contributed to Microsoft's decline. While still profitable, Microsoft lost its dominance, its closed strategy and slow response to new technologies costing it the opportunities of the Web 2.0 era. The author argues that Microsoft's 'death' wasn't sudden but a result of multiple factors, its biggest weakness being its clinging to the traditional desktop software model and failure to embrace the new technologies and business models of the internet age.