Microsoft: Bridging the Product Gap

Microsoft(MSFT Quote) will have a hard time grabbing as many headlines in 2005 as it did in 2004, especially in the wake of its blockbuster $32 billion special dividend announced this past summer.

Indeed, the software titan already has cautioned investors that tougher comparisons loom this year, in part because the dividend payout reduced investment income but also because no major new releases of Microsoft's flagship Office and Windows franchises are slated for 2005.

Instead, Redmond, Wash.-based Microsoft has suggested that investors stay tuned until 2006, when the next versions of both products are launched. ...