From health care systems to cellphones, Steve Ballmer wants Microsoft “to invent everything that’s important on the planet.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/18/business/18msft.html?th&emc=th

Microsoft is very much aware that they are facing a present where the traditional desktop OS and traditional thick desktop apps (i.e. Office) are being squeezed and a future where these lines will have less relevance. Without a path forward –  MS Online (the first full Cloud app suite for SMB/Enterprise – essentially MS Office in the Cloud with Rich Services clients) and to make “Cloud run better on Win7″ – Microsoft is looking at a bleak future with diminishing revenue streams.

The [...]