Barely was the e-ink dry on Microsoft and Barnes & Noble’s $300m NOOK agreement when pundits were questioning the wisdom of adding Amazon to the software company’s existing roster of big-name rivals. Microsoft is already under attack in mobile and computing, so the commentary went; throwing one of the biggest retailers around into the mixture was at best foolish and at worst evidence of Microsoft spreading itself thin when it needs to be extra lavish with its strokes. That analysis is wrong, though. Make no mistake: Apple, not Amazon, is in Microsoft’s sights today.
