Microsoft deserves all the bashing it gets.

Think about it - their software has produced a blight upon the world through actively giving virus authors bug after bug through which to weasel the virus's. Microsoft went so far as to admit on a support web page that Outlook is designed to enable virus replication.

Further, they are proven monopolists, with a string of both large and small companies that have been trashed via their illegal monopolistic practices. The court ruling was clearly that Microsoft is guilty (as a finding of law) of illegal monopoly, and the appeals court upheld that part of the ruling. It's the stupid current DOJ staff that's getting ready to let them off with a slap on the wrist.

Further, the new licensing regime's in Microsoft Office and WinXP are totally icky, and have led many people (myself included) to go for alternative platforms and abandon previous software investments. It includes intrusions on privacy as well as added security bugs.

The court proceedings aren't about punishing them for being "too good at the game". They illegally manipulated the game to their advantage. The harm they did is highly obvious and visible in front of you - I've summarized it above - how much people-effort is wasted combatting these viruses??? If Microsoft were socially responsible they would produce good quality software that wasn't rampantly broken in security terms.

Is it "politically correct" to attempt to force everybody in the world to use a particular product?? In it's barest terms, that is what Microsoft has been doing. They make secretive license agreements with hardware makers that prevent them from selling any computer with an OS other than Microsoft Windows -- try buying a Linux or BeOS or Solaris/X86 or FreeBSD system from a large company that also sells Windows systems -- you won't be able to, and it's these controlling license agreements to blame, because Microsoft says that if you sell any systems with MS Windows on them, then EVERY system you sell has to have MS Windows. This is the same pattern Microsoft followed with the browsers -- requiring that Netscape NOT be installed on any computer the maker sells -- in general, being highly controlling over what it is that the individual computer companies are selling.

As a result the consumers have less choice -- not the greater range of choice which Microsoft likes to say they give customers.

Don't trust a word that Microsoft says. They lie whenever they breath.

- David