I also wonder how many of them were strategically delayed until a new CEO was in office, to really underline the regime change nature of his promotion.

What Nadella realizes is that not every device needs to run windows, they all just need to run the diverse software microsoft offers. I was at the bar last night and I overheard a group of like 10 people (all over 40) talking about how awesome office 365 is. People, at the bar, talking about office 365... This alone is big because Office accounts for a large amount of microsoft's revenue.

There has been leadership from within the ranks for a while.

It's to the point where the overall story is objectively compelling and move shave been made to adjust the footing and direction which enable now to be.

There couldn't be now without everything that's been baked into the web landscape (great strides in shortening cadence and solid foundations to support that quicker responsiveness), cloud tooling and infrastructure (Azure), Win+8/Xbox One/RT/WinPhone8+ etc which refactored the OSs to support and drive the momentum, etc.

People could complain along the way about each piece, but, organizationally, under Ballmer's reign transformation was taking place.

Sinofsky is a great example. He did drive Windows (and indirectly Office) changes with which people weren't necessarily happy. But, the foundations were solid and the talent undeniable. From there, we get here.

The blossoms are coming out now, and the benefits are widely being appreciated. But plowing, sowing of seeds, and feeding the plants and sprouts is all coming together.

It's a good time for everyone. A strong, more open Microsoft is good for driving Apple, Google, Amazon, etc. to continue their drive. Competition is good for us all, even if we don't all get sold on any one team's garden.

That seems like the sort of thing that needs much much more time, and data, to actually judge.

Well, considering I didn't renew my Gold sub because the price almost doubled (3 users for $99 to 3x$60), I'm not surprised. I think they made the move because they realized they were losing subscribers because of it.