Just as Microsoft's past year was characterized by launches, the next will be defined by a departure.
But even as Bill Gates leaves his full-time executive role, the company will be grappling with some of the biggest competitive challenges in its history, particularly on the Internet.
Here's our annual look at what to watch at the company in 2008.
* XBOX: The coming year will be pivotal in the video-game console industry, where Microsoft's Xbox 360 is competing against Nintendo's Wii and Sony's PlayStation 3. Entering the past holiday season, the Xbox 360 and Wii were neck-and-neck in worldwide market share, with the PlayStation 3 trailing.
Microsoft has said it wants its Home and Entertainment Division, which includes the Xbox business, to reach sustained operating profitability in the company's current fiscal year, which ends June 30.