Microsoft said Chief Executive Steve Ballmer will retire within 12 months.

The man who laughed at the iPhone and said he “liked our position” with Windows Mobile and who presided over Microsoft’s Lost Decade (as VanityFair branded it) has decided to step down. This is good news for anyone who is a fan of Microsoft. They are going to have a very difficult time weathering the storm they are in and they’ll need someone who has the vision to lead them. One almost wishes for a Bill Gates return, a la Steve Jobs, to lead them back to greatness.

The road forward for Microsoft has to be with devices and services. It would be very interesting to see a purchase of Blackberry and a commitment to Azure as solidifying the push forward. They need to make some big bets and some of those will necessarily involve admitting some big mistakes (ahem, no compromises?).