Microsoft said industrywide sales of personal computers will probably be lower than analysts projected in the fourth quarter because supply was hurt by flooding in Thailand.



From Businessweek:

Last year’s flooding in Thailand, which knocked disk-drive factories off line, took a toll on a PC market that was already suffering from competition with smartphones and Apple Inc.’s iPad. Sales in Microsoft’s Windows unit, which makes the operating system software that runs most PCs, have missed estimates in three of the past four quarters. The comments probably mean they will fall short again, said Brendan Barnicle, an analyst at Pacific Crest Securities in Portland, Oregon.

  Microsoft Says Fourth-Quarter PC Shipments May Have Fallen Short