REDMOND, Washington: A mood of cautious optimism tempered with a dash of anxiety has spread on Microsoft Corp's leafy campus in the Seattle suburbs, as the world's biggest software maker embarks on one of the most tumultuous periods in its 38-year history.
Since mid-July, three interlocking events - all of them considered highly unlikely six months ago - have unfolded in quick succession, unsettling Microsoft managers and employees and roiling its share price.
