Where they should go
Honestly, MS will probably never be as dominant as it was in the past. And the main reason for this is that people simply don't trust them. People don't like the dirty tactics they use, the DRM they foist on their users, their nigh refusal to play nice with other operating systems, their patent suits against every one and their grandmother, or their bald-headed jackass of a CEO.
If MS ever wants to regain true dominance in the tech sector, then they have to EARN back our trust. And the only way they can do that is to renounce all their douchebaggery and start playing nice with others.
Firstly, they need to fix Windows. Even if it takes a complete rewrite. I know each version of Windows is supposed to be more secure than the last, but frankly, they aren't. As a PC repair tech, I saw Windows 7 and Vista machines getting pwn'd day in and day out just like XP machines. What good is all their supposed increased speed when you have to bog the machine down with an antivirus suite, an anti-spyware program, a firewall and a spam filter. Its easier and safer to just use Linux. I am a Linux fanboi and I admit that, but that doesn't mean that I speak falsely. If not for Windows, we wouldn't have the botnet problems that we have.
They need to stop all of this "embrace, extend, extinguish" bullshit. Support open standards. Perhaps even open some of their own. Embrace openness.
They need to renounce DRM. Period.
They need to be more concerned with their customers than their shareholders.
Until I trust Microsoft, I won't run Microsoft. Perhap initially, these proposed changes could lose them some potential profits, but in the long run, it is the only path to their former glory. And getting rid of Ballmer is the first step.
You can tell me how ridiculously unrealistic this list is, and I will probably agree. There's no chance in hell MS is going to do anything near the things on this list. But its the only thing that could get me to ever use their OS or buy their products on a regular basis.
I could've save myself a lot of typing by condensing this down to one sentence... ie. "Don't be a dick" but that wouldn't have been as eloquent.
Flame on.