Vista to the wall?

I am beginning to wonder whether Microsoft's inability to deliver timely on what was once called Longhorn is actually an indication that their development team is beginning to feel the heat of having to keep what is essentially a legacy architecture up and running? What happens to the industry when Microsoft will no longer be able to provide for OS innovation? Or are we already there, and it's actually only camouflaged by clever marketing? I wonder ...

P.S. The New York Times makes my point far more eloquently.