If Microsoft can't bring it traffic... who can? Whatever other company you cite, can its putative advantage compete with owning the default browser? (Wikipedia still has IE in the lead [1], though an ever-thinner one.) Even mighty Facebook can't really compete with that sort of advantage.
Honest question, interested in the answers.
[1]: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Usage_share_of_web_browsers
Facebook. Even though IE is still in the lead (for now), everyone "googles" and "facebooks" their way through the internet. No one "microsofts" anything.
Google has search, gmail, google docs, you tube, etc etc.
Facebook has your friends.
Microsoft has a bunch of second place also rans like bing, hotmail, msn, etc.
I have a Google Apps account -- using it every single hour when online.
GMail is definitely bigger than Hotmail. Maybe not when it comes to total number of accounts, but it's definitely bigger when it comes to the number of active users, which count more IMHO.
That isn't to say that the article isn't complete crap. Bing was developed as a strategic asset. MSFT certainly isn't hurting for cash flow. They have no compelling motivation to part with it any time soon.
I think Bing's problem from the start has been that it has been in a "Goliath versus Goliath" fight. No one is rooting for an old monopoly to beat a new, cooler monopoly. But an independent Bing, one which was agile enough to create its own fun, quirky and smart user experience, might get a lot interest.