Iirc (it's been a while since I read the article) I thought 'dead' was used to mean "they are not the dominant power in the world of software (in terms of tools

Iirc (it's been a while since I read the article) I thought 'dead' was used to mean "they are not the dominant power in the world of software (in terms of tools, languages, leadership, driving change) etc, like they used to be in the nineties" not in the sense of "they are a declining company in terms of revenue or market value" The present news just says Microsoft's market valuation is higher than apple's (today). Not sure if it really affects the central thesis of the article. EDIT: literally the first paragraph of the article "I was talking to a young startup founder about how Google was different from Yahoo. I said that Yahoo had been warped from the start by their fear of Microsoft. That was why they'd positioned themselves as a "media company" instead of a technology company. Then I looked at his face and realized he didn't understand. It was as if I'd told him how much girls liked Barry Manilow in the mid 80s. Barry who? Microsoft? He didn't say anything, but I could tell he didn't quite believe anyone would be frightened of them." People fear Facebook and Google and Amazon, if only for the immense amounts of damage they do to societies and polities. Who is afraid of MS (or IBM)? Do startup founders even think of MS as a factor in their plans (which seems to be what the article is about)