Just like people didn’t buy iPhones before the latest generation came out, people held off on Microsoft products in light of the upcoming Windows 8 debutante ball. That translated to a disappointing quarter for Redmond, and underscored just how much the company has riding on its massive desktop transformation.
The computing gigantor tallied up $US16 billion in revenue (down 8 per cent from last year) on its way to $US5.3 billion in operating income (down a whopping 26%). The company felt the crunch most in the Windows division, where sales dove 33% year over year.