27 Aug 11 things Microsoft is actually doing right

“With the announcement of the imminent retirement of CEO Steve Ballmer, it seems that everyone loves to bash Microsoft. The conventional wisdom holds that the company Ballmer leaves behind is nothing but a dying dinosaur with no place in a post-PC world. Much of the criticism is justified, of course. Microsoft remains closely tied to a fading, Windows-centric vision of computing rapidly being overtaken by mobile devices, the consumerization of IT, and cloud services. Still, don’t be blinded by the bad news: Microsoft is far from finished. It remains a powerful player in tech with plenty of smart people working on important projects. Here are 11 positive things Microsoft is doing that will not only keep Redmond rolling but also help the company thrive.” Here’s the list:

1. Microsoft Office – King of Productivity
2. Microsoft is warming to open source
3. Windows Phone brings innovation to mobile — no, really
4. Microsoft developer tools and relations are first-class
5. The enterprise still runs on Windows Server
6. Internet Explorer and Bing are no longer jokes
7. SkyDrive has improved
8. Kinect for Xbox 360 is far more important than you think
9. Microsoft’s Hyper-V is giving VMware fits
10. Azure is surprisingly slick and well integrated
11. Microsoft is hinting at a willingness to change