Can anyone name anything successful that Microsoft has done in the past 10 years? (Say something! If you don’t, this will be one heck of a short blog post!)

For a long time, I’ve viewed Microsoft not as a monolithic block of evil, but rather as multiple petty fiefdoms all bickering with each other. Honestly, it amazes me that Microsoft actually produces anything.

A recent New York Times editorial confirms my viewpoint. Written by former softie Dick Bass, it says some wonderfully insightful things about Microsoft, things that should make the shareholders shudder in fear. For example:

At Microsoft, [uncontrolled competition] has created a dysfunctional corporate culture in which the big established groups are allowed to prey upon emerging teams, belittle their efforts, compete unfairly against them for resources, and over time hector them out of existence. It’s not an accident that almost all the executives in charge of Microsoft’s music, e-books, phone, online, search and tablet efforts over the past decade have left.

Yikes!

You see, Microsoft is trying. They were working on a tablet years ago. Sabotaged. They could have had a portable music player long before the Zune. Sabotaged. They could have had all sorts of spectacular things, proposed and promoted by individual teams within Microsoft. But apparently the big bully groups — Windows and Office — throw their weight around and stifle those efforts.

Says Mr. Bass:

Microsoft’s huge profits — $6.7 billion for the past quarter — come almost entirely from Windows and Office programs first developed decades ago.

That’s not good news. I’m sure that the managers and engineers in the Windows and Office groups are pleased, but the question looms: What has Microsoft done lately? Where is the innovation?

Mr. Bass passes along pretty dismal news on the innovation front:

There has been a steady exit of [Microsoft’s] best and brightest.

I’m sure that the profits from Windows and Office will continue to keep Microsoft’s bottom line flush and attractive. I’m also equally sure that the bullies who run those two kingdoms will ensure that they are protected and not threatened by any talented upstart group or interesting side venture at Microsoft.

Historically, I recall the fate of some big names from the early days of computing. WordPerfect Corp. Ashton-Tate. VisiCorp. Even the venerable Lotus. These were all powerhouses that made a fortune from single programs that once dominated the industry. Today, they’re all gone. (WordPerfect exists, but is not a powerhouse.) Could Microsoft be headed toward a similar fate in coming years?