I would not dismiss Microsoft that easily, they are still a dominant force in software world and probably will be for a long time to come. Maybe they just lack focus here and there, which comes along having battles on so many fronts as they do have. Microsoft is a gigantic battleship with lots of bad and good stuff, for example Microsoft is a way to go if you want to be at the bleeding edge of 3D research these days, and that is just one very small segment of what they do - and lead in.
