Microsoft's New Building Blocks

Is Microsoft(MSFT Quote) the proverbial slumbering giant awakened too late to fend off the onslaught of the Googles of the world? I don't think so. Let's take a look.

My main concern about Microsoft is that its business model for the next decade may move away from software and into online services -- services that Microsoft competitors will be able to cheaply replicate, driving customers and revenues away from the Microsoft platform.

It seems like a paranoid fear, but when I look at services like www.writely.com (which will eventually be as good as an online Microsoft Word) or Zimbra (an online Outlook), it seems to me that the largest segment of Microsoft's revenue -- the segment that sells Office -- is in danger of being poached. ...