Jobs could kill projects that way because Apple doesn't rely on partnerships in the way Microsoft does. In other words, in planning for the iPad launch Apple could call up Samsung and ask "Can you deliver 2m chips per month?" Conversely, Microsoft has to show Micheal Dell the Courier and ask, "Do you want to build these, and if so, when, and how many do you think it will take to be profitable, what sort of battery would you use, etc.?"

Because of this, Microsoft has to be willing to fail somewhat publicly. Because of their size, Microsoft will have failures that sound big - but really, on a corporate scale, 130 people on a project that gets cancelled isn't very many.