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I think that’s more of a statement than a question these days. Vista is, at best, seeing lukewarm reception in the OS marketplace. And the Zune? Hmmm. Not much to say about that. Microsoft has seen a string of music services go down in flames to Apple’s iTunes Store and iPod juggernaut.

So how about that core?

If Microsoft resolves all those concerns, no one (including the Open Document Format camp) will have a problem with it. Microsoft doesn’t seem to grok that true openness breeds trust. If it were submitting a truly open standard, it wouldn’t matter what anyone thought of the company submitting it.

It looks like Microsoft’s days of rolling over opposition with a superior lobbying budget and the lack of clear alternatives is over. It might actually have to play nicely now with the other children. Imagine that.

To me the question isn’t so much is the core business fading, but rather can its new businesses and related services like Xbox make up the difference? If Microsoft can iron out significant manufacturing problems with the Xbox 360, and keep its (very) healthy share of the server and corporate desktop markets, it’ll be ok for the next half decade. If not, watch out.

Cnet reveals refurbished iPhones are now for sale at the Apple Store. $100 off each model, making the 4GB $399 and the 8GB $499.

I might buy one of these. I’ve had good luck with Apple refurbs.

In defending a previous comparison, Scot Finnie uncorks some new, spot-on observations I agree with wholeheartedly.

The main point I was trying to make is that when you compare Macs with comparably equipped Windows PCs, sometimes Macs beat Windows PCs in the price/performance comparison. Sometimes Windows PCs beat Macs. Overall, there’s relative parity.