Has Microsoft switched from defense back to offense?

From Tech Republic

It’s easy to forget that Microsoft started its life making programming languages. The world’s largest software company, which was founded in 1975, didn’t throw its first touchdown pass until it backed into the contract with IBM to supply the operating system for the first IBM PC in 1981.

During the 1980s and 1990s, Microsoft may not have built the best products or been the first mover in most of the markets where it built products, but it was the scrappiest and the most tenacious (and sometimes, the most ruthless) competitor in the computer market. And, that’s why it succeeded.

But, when Microsoft was hauled into court by the U.S. Department of Justice in 1998 and charged with monopolistic and anti-competitive practices, the company lost its edge. It became a much less aggressive company.

However, there is mounting evidence that Microsoft is casting itself as the underdog and going back on offense, as Larry Dignan pointed out last week. Here are the five plays that Microsoft has run recently that make me think the company doesn’t want to simply defend its turf any longer, but wants to move the ball down the field

I couldn't agree more. As I have watched Microsoft's moves against Apple and Google and the capabilities of Server 2008 and Windows 7 as well as their renewed push in the development tools arena, I have been struck by the impression of a slumbering beast awakening. It's not just that they are making moves, they are making the right moves.