I'm an ex-'softie and proud of the work I did there. It seems every current or past employee of Microsoft has some story to tell about "the good old days" when

I'm an ex-'softie and proud of the work I did there. It seems every current or past employee of Microsoft has some story to tell about "the good old days" when everything was smaller or faster or they were all only X steps from BillG or everyone was just more "hard core". Most of the stories I personally hear (or comments I read on minimsft.blogspot.com) about the impending implosion at Microsoft seem more like seeing greener engineering grass somewhere else. Usually in the past at Microsoft. The internal politics are often toxic and the raw amount of stuff for someone new to learn is so daunting that someone who's been there for a while seems like a god relative to the newcomer. I think that probably helps grow this kind of mythology. More experienced people leave (by choice or because of the draconian review system) and the newer 'softies think the golden age is ending. Externally, it's a lot of fun to talk about Microsoft dying. In the face of record profits, wasn't it? Yeah, whatever. Are they relevant? What does that mean? Is my sewer bill relevant? I still pay it. People still pay Microsoft. I could use their stock chart as a straight edge but that doesn't mean they're dying.