MSFT-MicroSoft anyone?

yeah they get thrown around pretty badly but in comparison to last year’s .50 per share earnings to this years .47 when other companies shows that they still have the earning potential even though shares have gone down.

I think what microsoft has to do is tie in their search engine with MSN messenger. Just looking at my msn, it has tabs and stuff but nothing that makes me want to use it to search.

Maybe even a semi facebook like social system where other people can see what you search and what you are interested in. Obviously with a privacy function as well but I sure you get the gist.

If U.S. history is any guide, the depressed economy is likely to face a long and uneven recovery, Microsoft Corp. Chief Executive Steve Ballmer told Wall Street.

But the software giantal so outlined its plans to continue investing in its business while adjusting to the market slump — for example, by tailoring the impending new version of its Windows software for lower-cost “netbook” PCs. Microsoft also strongly hinted that it is still interested in exploring a potential deal with Yahoo Inc. to build up its Web search business, though a full acquisition remains off the table.

Microsoft Corp. is expected to report declines in profit and sales for its fiscal third-quarter after the market’s close next Thursday, offering investors their first insight into a period for which the company took the unusual step of declining to offer a forecast because of the cloudy economic climate.

Analysts on average estimate the company will report earnings of 39 cents a share on $14.1 billion in revenue for the period ended in March, according to data from Thomson Reuters.

That compares to earnings of 47 cents a share on $14.5 billion in revenue in the same period a year earlier.

Research firm IDC reported earlier this week that shipments of personal computers — many of which include Microsoft’s dominant Windows operating system software — fell 7.1% in the quarter ended in March. That was a slightly milder year-over-year decline than had been feared.

But Thomas Weisel analyst Tim Klasell noted that much of the boost for the IDC numbers came from demand for pared-down netbook computers, which generally include lower-cost versions of software from Microsoft and other providers.

In addition, Klasell wrote in a research note that in analyzing Microsoft, “our own channel checks in the quarter indicated weakness in business spending from a lack of budget.”