The key is to watch and see if the company falls back into old bad habits.

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Not bad for a company just going into its sixth year.

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In each of those scenarios, the government rode in and split a company into two separate entities, taking on the bad assets to preserve the good business.

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The company apparently pulled a large group into human resources and gave them the bad news.

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Ever tidbit of bad news has been countered with claims that the company is transforming its stores into aggregations of brand boutiques, centered on bistros and offering other experiential stuff that would make them destinations again.

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The company this morning announced intentions to slip the 48-core bad boy into future tablets and smartphones (emphasis on future), with CTO Justin Rattner saying the mobile implementation could arrive "much sooner" than the 10-year window predicted by researchers.

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