It's Friday the 13th, the unluckiest day of the year. How unlucky has been Microsoft over the past 34 years? This is the first of two parts. We'll be back with "Microsoft's 10 Lucky Breaks" when Friday the 13th returns in March. Yes, your lucky day will come around that soon.
Microsoft has had many lucky breaks over the years. The company's rise through the 1980s and 1990s is really a series of lucky breaks combined with business savvy and execution on the vision of one PC on every desk.
More recently, Microsoft hasn't been so lucky. Since the mid-1990s, the company has stumbled a few times and been unlucky even more often. Recent unluckiness is so great, I had a really hard time whittling down this list to just 10 items. I consulted the independent analysts at Directions on Microsoft for their advice; these guys have followed Microsoft since 1992, and some of the analysts are former employees.
10. Windows XP launch.
9. Stock doldrums.
8. Passing on YouTube.
7. Linus Torvalds develops Linux.
6. Apple's May and October surprises.
5. Windows Vista.
4. The Google economy.
3. September 2008 economic crisis.
2. The United States vs. Microsoft.
1. World Wide Web.
Source: microsoft-watch.com
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