Microsoft Corp's fiscal second-quarter profit fell very slightly as lagging computer sales to cash-strapped consumers in the United States and Europe hurt its core Windows business. Companies and emerging markets are still hungry for new PCs, according to the latest data, but customers in mature markets are ditching their Windows-powered netbooks in favor of Apple Inc's iPad, Amazon.com Inc's Kindle or postponing a PC purchase until the economy improves. "There's really three things that impacted the consumer side," said Peter Klein, Microsoft's chief financial officer, reflecting on the dip in computer sales.
