Microsoft: An Interesting Case Study

Final Words

For me, the bottom line is that Microsoft does not need to be such a horrible corporate citizen in order to survive and prosper. It is not like they produce a bunch of junk. In fact, Windows 2000 Professional, no matter how long in coming, is a fantastic product. Their Internet Explorer 6.0 browser, along with Outlook Express 6.0, have grown to be very, very good products. They show that it is not necessary for them to be a monopolistic bully in order to have great applications. They don't use these types of tactics with their hardware division, yet still manage to have some of the best selling, most highly regarded products out there. Their optical mice are just flat out awesome, and their new trackballs are some of the very best of breed. To be frank, Linux in the desktop market is a mess, and since Corel agreed to kill off their Linux division, they really have nothing left to fear. There is no reason to shove Windows XP down the throats of consumers and OEM's alike. There is no longer any reason to put so much pressure on retailers to get the competition off the shelf.

As Windows XP comes closer to market, Microsoft seems to be showing us that it really doesn't care about giving us options. They are content to load XP up with all sorts of bloated code without easy options to uninstall what we don't want. They seem as angry, arrogant and defiant as ever, even though the court has indeed upheld the fact that they are a Monopoly and has used unfair business practices to maintain that monopoly. They seem perfectly willing to stick it to the business community that helped make them a mainstay. They do this through changes in the licensing agreements that are not only designed to force users to upgrade to the XP generation, but to wring as much cash out of them as possible. There is no reward for loyalty, no recognition of their existing investments and no effort to listen to the concerns of a growingly vocal audience of former devotees.

Microsoft seems uninterested in heeding the warnings of an increasingly angry and resentful marketplace. They seem unwilling to pause in their effort to milk the general public for cash in a move to shore up the bottom line and put stockholders ahead of customers. They seem to tune out those who ask the simple questions: "How many billions in profit does it take before you will act like you give a damn about the people who buy your products?" and "Why don't you just give us some flexibility and let us choose what parts we want to install and remove?".

It is easy to put the blame on Microsoft for their wicked behavior, but unfortunately those great men and women who toil away on the code, who actually create some of those great products, remain overshadowed by the pathetic and greedy corporate decision making process. It is hard to be recognized as the only sweet-smelling flower in a garden of putrid compost. It really is too bad. If someone could just slap Gates and Balmer across the face and wake them up from their frenzied state of oppressive dictatorship, perhaps they would realize that they can rest easy in the knowledge that they can actually compete on the merits. That their cash reserves give them a great deal of flexibility to sit back and respond to any innovations that may come up from other areas of the industry. They have the tools to compete, but it seems no longer the will. They have the potential to be a good corporate citizen, but it seems no longer the compassion to do so. They could be so many things to so many people, but instead of reaching out and becoming a partner in the community, they choose to continue their campaign of rigid control and deceptive manipulation.

It is also sad that consumers and businesses don't have the stomach for a good fight. If only a few dozen major corporations and a cadre of devoted consumers would put their foot down and let Microsoft know that their actions would not be tolerated, perhaps things would change. But as long as we remain in the shadows, unwilling to stand up and be counted, we only foster the very problem we complain about. We are like hapless sheep being moved blindly and stupidly from pasture to pasture, only caring about how easy and convenient grazing can be, not worrying about the quality of the grass or the impact on the landscape. As long as we feel fat and happy, we seem content to sit back and let someone else dictate our direction and limit our options. As bad as the Microsoft Corporate Culture may be, our apathy and lack of self-respect must certainly be just as distasteful. I hope that one day the numbed, unwashed masses will wake to their complicity in this plight, but fear that the more things change, the more things will stay the same.