ironman said:
Why am I not suprised. A monoply MS is not, they are however, a large company that is making smart business decisions to stay above the competition (who quite frankly are all guilty of shady business practices.) Form a business standpoint, I have great respect for MS. From a personal aspect, I guess I do.They make good products for the most part. I do have a great deal of respect for Bill Gates. If only more business men were like him, the world would be a better place. |
Many if not most of their business decisions which made them big were illegal and anti-competitive. It's not entirely the offender's fault, but mostly also the US government which should have upheld the law much more strictly. Of course Microsoft funded various governments to a large extend, which would in many countries be illegal due conflicts of interest. But I think if Microsoft was an Iranian company the US would have boycotted them and maybe even find an excuse to bomb the facility...
As for Bill Gates, I don't think he eats one steak less for upping his profile by PR investments. He made a good decision to buy the rip off Quick and Dirty OS from a programmer in the beginning for 25 thousand dollars, but IMO mostly it was a lack of insight from IBM managers which caused their breakthrough success and market position. Regarding technology Bill Gates has a long list of failed predictions and incorrect statements, so from a technical visionary standpoint he's not impressive despite all the advisors he must be able to afford.