I predict that, for the rest of the summer, all news of Microsoft, Inc. will be tinged by the impending departure of Bill Gates from day-to-day operations. Who will take his mantle? Who else will leave? And, grandly, what will be his legacy?

Steve Hamm of BusinessWeek wonders, will Gates be remembered for his innovations and good works, or for his anti-competitive "bare-knuckle tactics"? Hamm's conclusion seems to be that Gates deserves the Carnegie legacy (as opposed to Rockefeller) thanks to the thousands of millionaires he minted and the great works he's already begun to do with his foundation.

Evidently, the legacy didn't look great to investors (or maybe they're just still smarting over Google's success in capturing Adobe's heart, an obvious snub of Microsoft in favor of the company's oogly rival), as the stock was down 20 cents to $22.88.

I am not a Microsoft shareholder but I think shareholders should welcome the announcement that he will retire in 2008 from daily operations.

Microsoft stock is down 61% from its 1999 high and it has been dead money for years. If Gates has confidence in Ray Ozzie, he could become the next CEO. Whether he can break up and rejuvenate the rather moribund IT conglomerate which is Microsoft, I don't know.

But I do know that Gates's oversight of the company has not helped shareholders much in this millennium. The one concern shareholders should have is that Gates may accelerate the rate at which he sells his Microsoft shares as he phases out of the company.

Moreover, unless his sidekick Steve Ballmer gets a vote of confidence from the board, he too could be gone. And with two major shareholders seeking to diversify their holdings, smaller shareholders could suffer.