Actually according to at least one insider at the time, MS also was under pressure from ex-VFP gurus who wanted VFP closed down asap to boost their own conversion, training and other commercial endeavors. Also there was a claim that a high-profile VFP knocker was granted NET MVP status if he targeted VFP effectively and accelerated the rot. The second claim was denied.
"... They ne'er cared for us
yet: suffer us to famish, and their store-houses
crammed with grain; make edicts for usury, to
support usurers; repeal daily any wholesome act
established against the rich, and provide more
piercing statutes daily, to chain up and restrain
the poor. If the wars eat us not up, they will; and
there's all the love they bear us."
-- Shakespeare: Coriolanus, Act 1, scene 1
