It's not the new normal. That's what people say to justify extreme premiums during times in which investors have overly inflated valuations. This is the third bubbly tech era in the last 20 years. That new normal premise has been used frequently in each.
I understand why Microsoft has inflated. It doesn't jive with actual results in the post Ballmer era. There isn't even a hint of the kind of growth that could justify such an elevated PE ratio (elevated for a company with no growth for years). Their fast growth areas are struggling to off-set what they're losing in eroding, old business franchises. Net result, they're standing still.