Cisco held the title of "world's most valuable company" at one point during the bubble (see http://news.cnet.com/2100-1033-238483.html - March 27, 2000).

That proved pretty meaningless then, as it would for Apple now.

Market cap is not a good basis upon which a company should frame its strategic planning and for the article to suggest that Microsoft may do this vis-a-vis Apple and Google renders its analysis pretty superficial.