>>>>I'm curious how far breaking the law is ok in your view then. What else is it ok for them to do? Rob a bank? Steal from the grocery store? Steal a car? Break into homes and steal another person's belongings? Anything they think they need to do for a better economic life?
>>>
>>>Funny how "breaking the law" suddenly gets explained via straight theft from a person. I somehow never see embezzlement, corporate fraud, Ponzi schemes, buying laws, Microsoft etc. As if any of these aren't a convincing example.
>>
>>How did Microsoft land on that list?
>>
>>I have never quite understood the antipathy some hold toward them. IMO they are a very successful, very well run company.
>
>They managed to buy enough legislature and media so their legal transgressions are out of sight. But not all forgotten and not by all.
>
>Remember "embrace, extend, extinguish"? Remember the years of FUD about open source? Remember taking over Fox user groups and conferences in an attempt to hijack them into becoming dot net? Remember the impossible patent requirements? Remember Digital Research and the "we'll let you, dealers, sell MS-DOS for only $30 if you sign here that you will not sell machines with DR-DOS"?
>
>It's not a "successful company", it's not envy. It's just anger towards the mountain of illegal stuff these thugs got away with.

Whoa, Mr. Dragon.

1. I don't know what user groups and conferences Microsoft took over. In fact by the time .NET rolled out they were getting out of UG and conference support, not into it. For a number of years DevCons were bankrolled by Microsoft. That stopped sometime near the end of the 90s and FoxPro Advisor magazine took up the role.

2. And here I thought open source came from entirely different groups, with MS conspicuously late to the party. Please enlighten me if I am mistaken.

3. Digital Research was about a million years ago and Microsoft consisted of a few dozen employees. Maybe they were a little ruthless about it but they were hungry. They were not yet a successful company with tens of thousands of employees. At least in folklore, Gary Kildall of DR skipped a meeting with IBM to go flying and the rest is history.

4. I don't know what patent requirements you mean.