When people compare Apple to "Microsoft" they aren't talking about the real Microsoft of today. They are talking about the clueless fictional company of the cool mac vs stodgy PC ads.
The reality of today is different.
While investors fret about Apple's next miraculous product, Microsoft is not so quietly developing multiple lines of revenue for now and the future.
Try this:
http://www.zdnet.com/10-amazingly-st...tag=RSS14dc6a9
Microsoft's cash stash may only be $69B but their business is nicely diversified; they have a dozen billion dollar a year products, most of which are in steady growth mode. This diversification means that, unlike Apple or Google, they are not tied to any single product and a failure of any one won't be much of a threat.
Apple wishes they could become the next Microsoft because if they're not careful they can easily end up as the old Scully Apple, milking one cash cow to death. Quiet sustained competence usually trumps up and down hit-based wonderd.