So far not really, they abused their monopoly against small innovative companies like Be Inc. In the past operating systems would get more and more efficient and were a lot more open, this wasn't the case with Windows, it just got slower and slower, rendering Vista Ready PCs into email terminals was a low point.

MSDOS, the OS that really started their success due to IBM mistakes was just horrible and was a limited rip off from CP/M even down to the source code.

The original XBox I didn't like at all, the 360 is better due to R&D on the Cell's PPE from 3rd parties and a good job by Nvidea on the GPU at the time, mass 360 failures and denials up to the point of legal action against them didn't earn them respect. And their gains on the 360 seems at a large part due to them neglecting PC gaming, many of their games (ironically often based on cross platform technology) aren't available for Windows or are heavily delayed.

Their introduction of new technology often goes hand in hand with porting issues for other platforms, which hinders consumer choice.

But if Windows 7 is really far more efficient and becomes well supported games wise they will finally earn some respect, I want this industry to push forward and Microsoft for a company its size and influence IMO so far severely hindered technical progress. In the 80s it was hard to imagine computer technology would advance this slowly.

100% Agree

If they would act in their marketing model more like Sony then they would be probably way ahead. And I would have bought an Xbox.  This is the reason why I dislike them. If expensive then should it be obvious and not hidden. They can get respect for making a better Console then the Xbox was. But their marketing model is horrible and will hurt us all if Sony will be the looser this gen. If the people would see the Costs which are hidden they wouldnt have bought it.

Not mine. I won't respect a company who blatantly screws over and strong arms customers and other companies just so they can win. They did a good job making PS3 more competitive and for that I thank them.

i am software and systems engineer student.. so no.

Not at all. 2 words "quality control". I work in quality control and I can't respect a company that is willing to sacrifice this aspect of their business just to get their product released before their competitor.

I'll be honest and say that I had already respected them for making internet gaming work without the pitfalls that I have with doing it on the PC. (Cheaters in pretty much every PC online game pushed me out of that area.) Although I hadn't stopped to think about the wireless controller standard before this, and it's another good point.

Most certainly. I loathed the Xbox1 when it was first revealed. When I saw *those* Malice screens I was like F*CK NO!

They've done well and I'm happy to not be a poor teenager anymore cause now I can play Wii, PS3 and X360 and get all the games I want. Personally I like the competition very much.

This is my personal opinion, so don't get all offended.

I never liked the xbox consoles. I didn't like the games on the original xbox; PS2 and GC had everything a gamer could want except for Halo. I never really got into Halo that much, just played it with my friends every once and a while. I don't often play FPS games without a keyboard & mouse. There was one game I really wanted an xbox for and that was Forza Motorsport. I ended up buying the game and borrowing my friends system for a while to play it.
Of course then came the xbox360. First off, Doom 3 is not a xbox360 exclusive, which is the only game in the OP list I liked. I haven't seen a game any of my friends have that makes me want to go out and buy an xbox360. The common saying is "The games make the console". Plus, when it comes to 'respect', they lost a lot of it by designing a system that is faulty. The xbox360 for a long time had a problem with overheating which caused the RROD. I am not sure if they ever really fixed their system since I keep hearing news of problems. Of course, XBOX fans are tired by now of hearing about that issue.

As for Windows, which another poster mentioned, it is a decent series of OS. The main benefit from it comes from the fact that since so many people use it, it is so well supported. Other than that, Ubuntu and MacOSX tends to work better. I have experience with all three OS that I got while working in a computer repair shop.

That is my opinion. As you can see from my badges I own a PS3, Wii, and PC. My PC, for the most part, works a lot like an XBOX360 as many of the same games come out for both (which makes them non-exclusive to xbox360) and multiplayer goes to the same servers.

I respect some of their Developers, but Microsoft, NO, Not by a long shot!!!

Yes, MS has earned my trust. I always trust their hardware and software will break down one way or another. (No, I do not even talk about consoles.)