Microsoft just beat analyst expectations, announcing $16.20 billion in revenue for the first quarter of its 2011 fiscal year, with $5.41 billion in profit. Microsoft cites Office 2010, the sustained "PC refresh cycle," and 38 percent growth in the Xbox 360 biz for its good news, with overall revenue up 25 percent over the same quarter last year and a 51 percent gain in profit. Microsoft will have an earnings call at 5:30PM EDT, so we'll be keeping our ears peeled for Steve Ballmer to pull a Steve Jobs and rag hard on the competition -- if only we lived in a world of such beautiful symmetry.
