Microsoft slammed as partner event kicks off
DENVER--The temperature may have topped 90 degrees yesterday, but Microsoft got a chilly welcome as it got set to kick off its Worldwide Partner Conference on Tuesday.
Under the headline "Di-worse-ifying," the Denver Post took the software giant to task for losing its focus on its traditional business as it works to expand into areas like the Xbox and online advertising.
Well, if the paper doesn't love Microsoft, downtown Denver sure does. The mile-long 16th Street pedestrian mall was filled with banners welcoming the company--and the estimated 13,000 people it is bringing to the city.
And even as it criticized the company, the paper was pretty wowed by one of Microsoft's far-flung ventures. A sidebar to the Di-worse-ifying story talked up the tabletop Surface computer under the headline "Surface's potential boggling."
During her years at CNET News, Ina Fried has changed beats several times, changed genders once, and covered both of the Pirates of Silicon Valley. These days, most of her attention is focused on Microsoft. E-mail Ina. 
[i]reality[/i] at times (see also: [i]Zune[/i]).