Concise postmortem of Ballmer-era Microsoft

John Gruber on Microsoft's past and future:

Windows 8 wasn't designed to adjust to the new world; it was designed to turn back the clock to the old one.

What always amazes me is that Microsoft designed a fantastic, forward-looking pocket computer interface, Metro, then grafted it in crude fashion onto the same old thing, in pursuit of that end. It's always good, though, to remember why it has the luxury of relentless failure at new ideas.