Microsoft Failure (MSFT)

I think one of the things that kept bringing me back to The Big Picture over and over again when I first started dabbling in the market was Mr. Rithotz's love of good music, excellent band recommendations (I grew up a huge REM fan), and a complete lack of respect for Microsoft. When I first started reading about the business world I was always shocked by how often people would fall all over themselves handing out complements to Bill Gates and his company. Microsoft never has, and seemingly never will, come up with a truly unique and innovative product. They just rip off other people's ideas and do a better job at selling them. When reading The Big Picture, it was nice to know that a few other people felt the same way I did.

This brings me to the topic today. I received an XBox 360 for birthday (I must admit that I love playing Guitar Hero) and hooked it up today. Not surprisingly, the POS did not work. So instead of sending it back right away, I went into Gamestop and talked to the super-gamer in order to get his advice. To make a long story short, the dude tells me that he has had to send his Xbox back to Microsoft 3 separate times. Some other guy in the store overheard the conversation and came over to tell me he has had to send his back twice.

So while not happy about the whole situation I get back home to hear the guys on Fast Money go on and on about how great the Xbox is and how Halo 3 is going to make MSFT billions. They also tell the audience how great the price action in MSFT was today. I'm not sure about the long term prospects of the stock, but I can tell you that the action today was certainly not bullish, at least in the short term. The price failed a breakout of the 50 day moving average and remains in a downtrend.