Microsoft Believes It is Going to Die

For years, people have cried out that "Microsoft is Dead!" Obviously, Redmond believes it. What else explains stupid moves like buying Minecraft and supporting the cloud fad? It's about self-confidence—Microsoft has none.

During the dot-com bubble, a number of fascinating ideas emerged, all of which were thought to be the next big thing. I hosted a cable channel discussion panel on TechTV right in the midst of the boom and heard all of them. Most turned out to be bullcrap.

Here are a few of the trends that were going to change everything.