Bill Gates is too widely respected to ever be blamed for any trouble looming down the road for Microsoft. Now that he's gone, there are two options for his legacy: 1) Microsoft does indeed take a turn for the worse, but since ever-admired Gates wasn't in the boardroom during the downfall he's free of any guilt. 2) Microsoft finds its footing again, and Gates (as the founder/visionary) is directly responsible at best and indirectly affiliated at worst.

I think that Bill Gates can only do good things for Microsoft's future. Who knows - now that he's not involved in daily issues, the company might take some risks that put them back on top.

No. Microsoft is a huge company. Bill Gates is a focus and a guide, not the whole enterprise. Microsoft had long ago passed the 'independent individual' stage.

I think Bill Gates departure could be a harbinger of Microsoft as a company in decline. The NY Times has a good Digital Domain column today about how bloated and slow Windows has become, and references the example of Apple rewriting their OS virtually from the ground up with OS X. Who else but Bill Gates would have the stroke to pilot that kind of an initiative at Microsoft? If Windows 7 isn't a quantum leap in out-of-the-box usability over Vista, Microsoft could be placed in the untenable position of having to support Windows XP almost indefinitely. I just don't see anyone else having the "intestinal fortitude" to make the difficult decision to start from scratch.

Yes, because Steve Balmer has questionable judgment and for Microsoft, at this point Shareholder confidence means everything.

I doubt that Bill's departure will have any impact upon how Microsoft is run. It isn't as though he's leaving and starting a rival company, he's focussing on his charitable side, which in turn will positively effect the company as a whole.

As synonymous as Bill Gates is with the Microsoft brand, his personal and direct involvement on a day to day basis is not what drives the company forward.

No I don't think so because Bill Gates has provided a good base or guide for microsoft to follow, i think microsoft will continue to thrive with excellence as he leaves.

I think Bill will make major inroads in other industries which really need his insight and creativity. In fact, he recently created the Business Partnership for Early Learning(BPEL) -- a coalition of King County, Washington business leaders including Boeing, the Bill Gates Foundation and others which have joined together to commit to reduce, and eventually eliminating, the school-preparedness gap for Seattle children who are most likely to be left behind in school. BPEL is conducting a five-year demonstration of The Parent-Child Home Program to help guide future early learning strategies. Studies already have proven that the program is working and that children will be prepared for school, ready to learn and ultimately ready for the workforce.

Yes - Maximizing shareholder wealth is all about relationships ! !

There is a chance that Bill leaving will finally prompt MSFT to look properly at their business model and realise that they have become too bloated and distracted to post a meaningful threat to their competitors.
They are fighting too many battles on too many fronts and have lost their identity. Some introspection, organisational concentration and focus would be very welcome. This probably wouldn't or couldn't have happened with Bill still at the helm.

pals the main objective of an organization is creating values.bill has already done it.its clear that they have two values once is gates value and the other is Microsoft value.still there can be a impact on microsoft values cse the values are joined together