This is slightly off topic, but Ballmer has to be crazy to overlook the strengths they have. Microsoft owns Amalga (see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft_

This is slightly off topic, but Ballmer has to be crazy to overlook the strengths they have. Microsoft owns Amalga (see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft_Amalga http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft_Amalga) which is an information retrieval tool for hospitals that ER doctors to reduce the time spent on searching for information. Now let's take a step back and see what it is. It's a tool which has the ability to manage 40 TB of data in real time and provide more than 12000 pieces of data for each patient. Can you imagine how rich a resource that is? Let's say that microsoft invests considerably in a centralized server and continuously mines the data coming in and strips patient data live to the bare minimum the ER doctor needs to see. Moreover, what if they see trends in what is happening in an entire city, before people even realize it and alert the authorities to prepare before some wave hits. Imagine if they could work with people to reduce costs by mining this truckloads of data in real time. Why are they aping Apple? Why? Microsoft had IBM's "A Smarter Planet" initiative before the latter even dreamed of it, but did they even know about it? It's the proverbial story; don't look where you can't go or you'll miss the riches below. They have some absolutely amazing gems locked up in the research labs that can change entire industries if leveraged in the right way. Moreover, Microsoft has the might to do it. They don't need an iPad killer they need a Microsoft Executive Killer(tm).