What's the Deal with Microsoft? Ask Michael McDonald

Last night we were trying to watch House, M.D., and one of those terrible Microsoft "Mojave" commercials came on, which implied that the reason Vista hasn't sold well isn't because it sucks but because consumers don't know you can make panoramic photos with it. That's a feature on everyone's must-have list for a new OS, isn't it? So then we were like, Great, this is what intracranial bleeding feels like.

Anyway that reminded us of this eviscerating TechFlash guest editorial by Microsoft shareholder Michael McDonald:

Imagine with horror, the waste of $300 million on the short-lived, inane Gates/Seinfeld ad campaign that has now morphed into a feckless series of sophomoric testimonials with absolutely no sense of what a brand is all about.

Really hitting the nail on the head there. It's fun to imagine that he's this Michael McDonald, and to pretend he's crooning in a '70s soft rock kinda way as he brings the axe down:

It’s now time for the two principal owner-players to stand down and bring in a talented, professional manager. Ballmer and Gates should, for their own good and that of shareholders, bring in the best CEO that money and challenge can buy.

He also calls Vista the "21st century version of New Coke." That's cold. But how long will shareholders put up with the Microsoft that can't shoot straight?

UPDATE: At today's annual meeting, a shareholder actually asked Ballmer if--having said, "The best is yet to come"--he could predict which year that would happen. Ballmer responded: "For Microsoft, every year is better than the last one. If we can get this economic thing headed the other direction. I'm not going to pretend that we have much control over that." So, like, the economy invented Vista?