Microsoft revenue dropped 17% in the fourth quarter of 2008 as earnings slipped 29 percent across the board on weak demand for MSFT products. Seems that even Microsoft's earnings aren't immune to the global economic slump. A low-demand PC market and soft Vista acceptance are to blame for the revenue drop.

It seems that even the mighty Mocrosoft can't avoid the global recession. In one of the weakest quarters in the company's past 25 years, earnings dropped 29% and revenue fell 17% globally.

Of interest to developers and businesses is the 6% drop in Microsoft Server and SQL Server 2008. As a part of the business division, the MS .Net platform is affected in both this 6% drop and the overall 10%. However, most painful was the MS Office franchise that accounts for 90% of gross sales. That division suffered 30% as people decided to tough it out with older versions of software rather than upgrade.

Microsoft recently decided to release a Linux kernel under GNU license to help bolster the acceptance of its Hyper-V product. While initially dismissed as a weak effort, it seems that Microsoft has not discounted the possibility of adoption by the Linux community; leading to another revenue stream.

Read More About Microsoft's 4th Quarter Revenue and Earnings:

- Microsoft sees business tough all year
- Microsoft 4Q Profit Dn 29% On Falling Revenue,Shrs Drop
- Microsoft Earnings Fall Sharply Ahead of Windows 7 Launch
- Microsoft sales, profits plummet

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