Coming Soon: Microsoft 2.0 the book

After years of insisting I had no interest in writing a book, I've finally taken the plunge.

I am writing a book about -- you guessed it -- Microsoft. It will be published in the Spring of 2008 by John Wiley & Sons. The title: Microsoft 2.0: How Microsoft Plans to Stay Relevant in the Post-Gates Era. (Amazon pre-order link for Microsoft 2.0 is here.)

Up until now, Microsoft WAS Bill Gates. But at the end of June 2008, Microsoft chairman Bill Gates is slated to relinquish his day-to-day duties running the company he founded more than 30 years ago.

The new (version 2.0) Microsoft is at a crossroads. To me, "crossroads" isn't synonymous with dead, though I realize not everyone agrees. Major Wall Street firms claim that the old gray Soft just ain't what it used to be. Many are predicting that Microsoft might need to empty its huge cash coffers in order to compete with or buy out Web 2.0 companies. Cutting-edge technologists claim Microsoft has lost its way; has fallen and can't get up; and has evolved into a company whose operating systems are loved only by "grandmas." (Programmer Paul Graham's words, not mine.)

In Microsoft 2.0, I plan to talk about Microsoft's future, not its past -- which is ground well covered by many other Microsoft authors before me. I'll provide an overview of the Microsoft people, products and strategies who will matter during the next decade. I'll do my best to distill all the tips; conversations with customers, partners and competitors; and insights I've gained while reporting and blogging about Microsoft over the past couple of decades into 300-plus pages.

I am still working on the manuscript, so if you have any suggestions or contributions to share, please send them on. As always, confidentiality is guaranteed (unless you are gunning for a mention in the book, that is.)