Is there any reason to doubt it? Microsoft's 2012-2013 has been one fiasco after another: widespread rejection of Windows 8, which only recently surpassed Vista's adoption rate, confusion over the poorly-differentiated Surface versions and the general failure of the Surface line in the marketplace, the XBone debacle and Sony making MS look like fools simply by announcing their plans not to gratuitously abuse their own customers. Add to that that they don't even have a successor lined up and think it might take them up to a year to find one, and it's abundantly clear that Ballmer got the boot.