Micrsoft tends to copy ideas and sometimes buy ideas...but there is no reason it hate it for that because most companies do that.

I never really thought of it that way. I guess I can why people hate Microsoft for they're Windows and conglomerate practices.

However, people who hate MS gaming and Xbox division only hate it because it has changed teh gaming industry from a primarily Eastern based industry to a global industry. That or they are fanboys of something else. Still, MS doesn't have much imagintation when it comes to innovaton, and I dont like that part at all.

Ok this will be my last post in this thread before it gets too silly :P

To all the people attempting to validate your liking of Microsoft by slandering other companies saying "We'll they do things just as bad! or, Well they're no worse than the other companies!" Do this for me (and yourself!). Don't look at who's done worse, or what's bad. Do this instead.

What has Microsoft, as a company, done for you? How have they enriched your life? Why do you follow them if not to hate against another company? What products or services have they brought you that's been nothing but tits and then some? Why do YOU like them as a company?

You can feel sorry that everyone hates them, sure, rooting for the "underdog" is always nice, but reflecting upon myself, I can't honestly think of a single thing that Microsoft's done that's made an impact on my life in a positive way. I can only ever recall fussing with Windows.

I don't HATE them necessarily, but I do strongly dislike them.

They copy other's ideas, they destroy once thriving companies and make them make BS updates to already crappy software, they sell you minor upgrades to products for $150, when they actually DO make a product that is at least functional, they go and mess it up (see Office 2007 for more info), they throw out crappy OSs and don't fix them, they try to dictate all software standards and if they haven't dictated them, they simply ignore them, they leave known errors in their software for years without fixing them (one security hole that affects ALL iterations of IE has been sitting on their report site since early 2006 and it's STILL not fixed), once they gain a monopoly, they don't do anything to advance/upgrade their product: (ex: IE1 released Aug '95, IE2: Nov '95, IE3: Aug '96, IE4: Sept '97, IE5: Mar '99, IE6: Aug '01, no competition after this point....... 1 year, 2 years, 3, 4, 5..... now there's competition; IE7: Oct '06, IE8: scheduled for early '09....), they don't fess up to their mistakes, they do a half-assed job when (IF) they fix their mistakes, they try to completely take over any market they don't already dominate, they never listen to their customers.

I guess the main thing that galls me is that despite their success, they really only make ONE product that actually deserves to have the market share that it does. And that product, Microsoft Visual Studio, is hardly a mass-market product.

btw, I think Bill Gates is a great guy. He seems like the kind of person every likes to hang out with and he has given well over $30 billion of his own money to charity. (He's WAAY better than that retard mexican dude who has like $60 billion and says he'll never give ANY of it away.... wondering what he'll use all that money for? so do I) However, despite Gates' generosity, as far as I know, M$ hasn't done anything similar as a company, so that argument is moot.

Me? I dislike MS because of their fans :) (the ones that don't think..because i know many that have a brain, and i respect them)


That and they lack creativity...

I'm proud to be one of the actual hardcore Linux users who have genuine reasons to hate MS and all proprietary software companies*.

*Except game companies. Games don't benefit much from the free software philopsophy, but applications need to be open.

Wal-Mart is only now becoming a threat in the Supermarket industry.  Target does not pride itself on being a supermarket giant either.  I don't know if you would call Target or Wallieworld a Department store or just giant discount stores but thats what they are.  Thats here in the US anyway, I don't know if overseas they are just huge supermarket/grocery stores.  I don't really like going to Wal-mart, I would take Target anyday.

OT: I like MS =).

 But these are good qualities of buisness. If you were buying shares in a company that didn't have this as its ethos you would be a very stupid investor...

That is unless the company was playing on its image, which unfortunately some do, however that isn't appropriate in the software developing world...You can't get "low fat" windows...oh wait you can if you trim the bloat, but that doesn't sell.

Trolling with the sig is pretty much an accepted practice around here. If people can hate on MS with their sigs, why can't he hate on sony?

Imagine a world without Microsoft... I think we would still live in caves ^^