Is it possible that Microsoft�a company not infrequently described as slow and out-of-touch�is on a cool streak?

Here�s the evidence, which was formulated by one of my smart commenters, �geoking�:

* Microsoft�s new mobile operating system, Windows Phone 7, is a complete overhaul of the mobile platform (Windows Mobile) Microsoft had in place for years. As geoking notes, �It takes a lot of guts to admit that what you had was wrong, chuck it, and start from scratch.�

I�ve been writing extensively about WP7. For more background, please check out these recent stories about the WP7 user interface.
* Microsoft�s search engine, Bing, is currently the No. 2 provider of U.S. searches after Google, according to The Nielsen Company. That shift occurred earlier this year and represented the first time that Bing moved past Yahoo in popularit