On the contrary. It's like working off the alcohol after a night on the tiles. The economy readjusts after the heady party days of easy credit, serial malinvestments and bubble blowing. People look for good investment schemes, unsustainable businesses get folded and prices readjust. Of course, like a host fearing that hung over guests will turn sour, government does everything it can to keep the blood alcohol high and the cocaine bowls filled by doing the Keynesian song & dance: print money, burn resources and keep giving out easy credit. Welcome to the Great Recession.

"Microsoft will tell you it will slow down, we’ll tell you it will accelerate like crazy, but the truth is it’ll probably stop somewhere in the middle.”

The front carriages will tear free, the middle section will slam on the brakes leaving the rear section to pile into it?

Not sure it's just the recession. I suspect that Microsoft turning out a steaming pile of crapware (I hear "Vista" is what they prefer to call it) has had a compounding effect.

I've certainly sat in several meetings where Vista got crossed off the list immediately as a complete waste of time.