This is my 1200th post. If someone would have told me I could write that much in my "spare time" I probably would not have stopped laughing until I collapsed. I marvel at all that has happened in the marketplace over this time: the ups and downs, good calls and bad; and being called everything under the sun, and then some, by our more 'enthusiastic' readers.

I must thank Amey Stone who I have been corresponding with for over a decade and was the one that first asked this architect and investor to be one of the initial group of bloggers. Now there is an army of writers and a lot has changed. For me this week marks a big change because Amey accepted a new position at another company and last Friday was her last day. Best of luck Amey!

Microsoft (MSFT) CEO Steve Ballmer sold about 50 million shares of his Microsoft stock for $1.34 billion, as reported in the Wall Street Journal (subscription required).

Let's listen to a fictitious exchange between Steve and his tax accountant: "Steve, you know you hold 408 million shares of Microsoft. For the end of the year tax adjustments, it's a good idea to sell some of it, say 50 million. Microsoft's earnings are strong. The mutual and hedge guys most likely will be buying. We can sell into that strength."

Microsoft (MSFT) puts up quite a bit of effort trying to convince the world that it is still cool, hip and relevant to the increasingly high-tech consumer. Although the company put on quite a show at the recent CES trade event in Las Vegas, does anyone care? Especially the companies that Microsoft counts as partners?

Microsoft, for the time being, has lost the cool factor to Apple (AAPL) and Google (GOOG). Both companies did not even show anything at the CES event, yet much of the tech hype in recent weeks has been Apple's impending tablet computer and Google's Nexus One wireless phone. Is Microsoft going to be seen as just a commodity provider of software by the consumer, not as a company that produces anything that is innovative or exciting? Although the launch of Windows 7 late last year garnered the company rave reviews, software is an intangible product in the mind of the consumer. You can't take Windows and stuff it into your pocket.

Although it has gotten wave after wave of bad press recently, is Microsoft Corporation (MSFT) really on the ropes in terms of not having a vision or executing a mission? Far from it. Competitors like Apple, Inc. (AAPL) and Google, Inc. (GOOG) have taken the limelight away from the world's largest software company in recent years with flashy products, sales numbers that would make any CEO grin and general rich tech-worthiness in terms of press coverage and upwardly mobile stock prices. At the same time, Microsoft has had one thing go well for it -- the recent launch of the Windows 7 operating system.

Today was a whip-around day. All day. Despite better construction and better manufacturing employment data, the markets looked like they were trying to roll over again before the end of day rally took stocks back up on the day. It seems that bargain hunters won over the fear that was felt earlier this afternoon.

Here were today's unofficial closing bell levels:

Dow 9,789.21 +76.48 (0.79%)
S&P 500 1,042.82 +6.63 (0.64%)
Nasdaq 2,049.20 +4.09 (0.20%)

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Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT), as we all know, is looking to get the biggest bang out of its software products. After the challenges encountered with Vista, and the slowdown in PC sales, Microsoft needs to look at its portfolio and see where unique marketing initiatives will impact sales in a positive manner.

As an example, Ina Fried over at CNET.com discussed a version of Office that will be available on new computers in 2010. It's being dubbed a "Starter" edition, and it apparently will use an advertising model to generate money. Users will also be able to get fuller versions by purchasing upgrade cards.

Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) CEO Steve Ballmer has indicated that the October 22 release of the Windows 7 operating system won't increase PC sales significantly. That's quite a statement from the CEO of the world's most influential software company on a new flagship piece of software that is said to be a truly shining product.

Why would the release of Windows 7 and its inclusion on millions of new PCs not increase sales? Ballmer's stated that "There will be a surge of PCs but it will probably not be huge," but it isn't really telling. Microsoft's bottom line will rely heavily on sales of its upcoming Windows 7 software -- and if PC sales don't pick up, how will Windows 7 sales fare? Microsoft licenses its software to PC makers, so it's not directly tied to retail and wholesale PC sales. Still, indirectly they're joined at the hip.

If IBM Corp. (NYSE: IBM) really does go ahead and buy Sun Microsystems (NASDAQ: JAVA) for a cool $6.5 billion or more, the two former adversaries could be joined into a powerful computing combination. One of its -- no, its largest competitor would be: Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT). With many powerful players challenging Microsoft's dominance these days (Google in the consumer space), here's another one. That is, if the merger speculation turns out to be true.

Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) today joined the ever-growing parade of companies firing employees.

The world's largest software maker is laying off 5,000 people, about 5% of its staff, in its first company-wide dismissal of workers. The move is not surprising.

Though the Redmond, Washington-based company is a cash-generating machine, investors are worried that it will be hurt by the slowdown in corporate IT spending. Last month, Forrester Research projected that spending by businesses on technology would rise 1.6% in the U.S. That's down from a projection of more than 6% made in August.

Almost two years ago I posted a downbeat opinion about a merger that went through and one that did not. However the latter is being discussed again, unbelievable! SEE: GM/Chrysler or Sirius/XM: Two losers don't equal a winner.

In the story I rant about all the things that would improve General Motors (NYSE: GM) and where it is lacking -- noting that being bigger and having more models, less focus and more debt, are not among them. Eventually Cerberus made the big bet and lost. You can be sure they would like to play that hand over again.

Now all three U.S. car companies are in trouble with billions of dollars of losses and huge debt overhangs. All three begged for, and received some amount of federal relief and will need more to sustain themselves though 2009 as it proves to be every bit as tough as 2008 was. Despite everything, GM and Chrysler have been pondering a merger again. BAD IDEA! GM does not need the distraction, they need more focus -- nothing but intense focus!

As Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) gets ready for another round of talks with Yahoo! (NASDAQ:YHOO) about buying its search business, the news that CEO Steve Ballmer killed two chances to get into search several years ago has emerged.

While there is some chance that the new chief of Yahoo! may elect to keep the portal company's search business, there is little reason not to at least hear Microsoft's latest offer.

Ballmer had the opportunity for MSFT to build online search empire almost ten years ago. According to The Wall Steed Journal, "In 2000, before Google married Web search with advertising, Microsoft had a rudimentary system that did the same, called Keywords, running on the Web. Advertisers began signing up. " For reasons that are hard to fathom, the world largest software company thought that an ad business built on search could hurt revenue from its other businesses. Microsoft also had the chance to buy a relatively small search company and passed.

As we begin the trek to grandmother's house, it's worth reflecting on what we have to be thankful for. The answer? When it comes to money, most of us have a lot less than we did a year ago. But for those of you who have your health and your families to comfort you, it will cost much less to buy the gasoline to visit than it would have in July. And as you're driving to visit those families -- consider how much less you lost in the last year than the world's 10 biggest losers.

According to the web site, The Business Sheet, those unfortunate people suffered a mind-boggling $176 billion in lost stock market value in the last 12 months. It turns out that 52% of the losses were suffered by three executives based in India. Here they are:

• Anil Ambani - $32.5 billion. Ambani heads Reliance Communications that invested $500 million in Dreamworks earlier this year.
• Lakshmi Mittal - $30.5 billion. Mittal heads ArcelorMittal which has suffered from a decline in the price of steel.
• Mukesh Ambani -$28.2 billion is Anil's brother and controls Reliance Industries, a petrochemical manufacturer.

These are some other folks that make The Business Sheet's list:

• Sheldon Adelson -$30 billion. I did consulting work for Adelson about 22 years ago and he is quite a character. His Las Vegas Sands (NYSE: LVS) casino is suffering from the economic slowdown and he's had some trouble with debt.
• Warren Buffett -$13.6 billion. As I posted, Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK.A) has had some problems this year.

This post is part of a feature on companies and products that our bloggers think are in need of a makeover. See all 26.

When Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) released its Windows Vista operating system product almost two years ago, the market was initially excited. That excitement turned to boring indifference as customers, both business and consumer, realized that this was just another update to Windows. Nothing revolutionary, or even evolutionary (in many minds). The problem was this: Windows Vista was a huge change under the hood, but where its users interact with it, it seems like a boring reinvention of an operating system from half a decade ago.

But Microsoft doesn't just make operating systems. It's into the office productivity business (Microsoft Office, anyone), it's big into the mobile business (Windows Mobile), and it's tried desperately to compete with Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) in the web search advertising business (which has largely failed). So, the company, which continues to make a ton of cash every quarter by selling Windows on all those global PCs that are sold, has no debt and a ton of cash under the mattress. It's still a boring company with a business model that's being made rapidly outdated by the internet and web-based competitors. Should it take its cash, return it to shareholders, and close up shop? Though this was suggested of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) some time back, that company roared back (maybe you've heard). Can Microsoft?

The Wall Street Journal must have better things to do with its time and all that expensive newsprint. The paper reports that CEOs of 175 large US companies have lost over $42 billion in net worth from the end of their most recent fiscal years though last week.

By this calculations, Warren Buffett is down $9.6 billion. Microsoft's (NASDAQ: MSFT) has seen his piece of the software company drop by almost $5 billion in value.

The reason that the data is foolish is that a loss is not really ever a loss unless and until the underlying securities are sold. People like Buffett and Ballmer don't need billions of dollars now, and they are still extraordinarily rich.They are unlikely sellers Two years from now, their net worth may be higher than they were in 2007. Who knows?

The calculation of wealth, made popular by the Forbes 400 is an exercise in futile math. What the rich are worth, especially if their money is in liquid securities is a snapshot in time, and one which can change hour-by-hour.

Why bother to eat of the time of good reporters?

Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 247wallst.com.

Yahoo! (NASDAQ: YHOO) will be reporting earnings for the third quarter on Tuesday, October 21. The internet portal hasn't had a great year so far. According to data at Earnings.com, the company hasn't seen too much in the way of bottom-line growth. And the stock is, as of this writing, at the low end of its 52-week range. Of course, just about all stocks are having a rough time this year. Then again, Yahoo! could have avoided all this misery and just allowed itself to become assimilated into the Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) culture. Poor CEO Jerry Yang. What was he thinking?

The call is for Yahoo! to post at least $0.09 per share for the bottom line. It would be nice if management could go beyond those expectations, since the company posted $0.11 per share in the year-ago period. Yahoo! really needs to show the market that it can stay relevant and keep up with the likes of Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) and Time Warner's (NYSE: TWX) AOL. Google recently booked a quarter that went well beyond the thinking of analysts. Yahoo! has a relatively decent history of beating earnings expectations, but it did miss the call last quarter, according to AOL Finance. So there's going to be a lot of pressure on Yang to perform.

Of course, let's be honest. The earnings, in the big picture, don't really matter. Yahoo! is essentially, in the minds of many, still an arbitrage play. In fact, Tobias Buckell recently commented on this subject. There are a lot of investors out there who would like to see Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer come back to the table to begin a new round of negotiations for a takeover of the portal. I, for one, wouldn't want to see that. Does Microsoft really need the headache of integrating the web company's brand assets with its own? No. However, looking at it from the perspective of a Yahoo! shareholder, I obviously see why a buyout would be attractive. That might be the only way for the stock to command any premium these days.