microsoft
Balmer Go F* Yourself
It seems that Microsoft these days does nothing but make idiotic business moves. At one point Microsoft thought they had the entire computer ecosystem on lock-down, but things are changing rapidly. Major threats to Microsoft include the Open Source movement and Google. Microsoft's mainstay is by far the Windows operating system. Windows these days survives often not due to the fact that it's excessively innovative or well functioning, but rather because everyone is used to it. Its 16 year+ history has a lot to do with its success.
End of a love affair: Why I am leaving Windows for Linux
Microsoft Live platform: Bill Gates outlines the Microsoft Live Platform, while bits rain down on other platforms.I am a technically adept user. I have been using Windows since Windows 3.0. I remember the entire progression, 3.1, 3.11 for Workgroups, 95, 98, ME, 2000, XP, and it kind of ended there for me. These days I find myself absolutely disgusted by Microsoft. From the AutoUpdate system which I feel like I am selling my soul to use, to their restrictive licensing, to the threats from BSA, to how difficult it is to upgrade Windows versus something like Ubuntu, my relationship with Microsoft is strained. Further, I don't feel like I can trust Microsoft, even if I pay them. I think that much like IBM and the Nazis, if an authoritarian government comes after you, Microsoft will be the first company to sell you and your data out.
Further, I don't think that I and Microsoft can have a forward facing relationship. As a developer, I abhor the Microsoft platform. It's expensive, it doesn't scale without significant cost and I have to ask Microsoft each time I want to do something. Compare that to something like Linux where I can do whatever I want, I can deploy 10,000 clusters tomorrow and Linux Inc. isn't going to say a damn thing to me, other than awesome, can we write a case study? Investing time learning Microsoft technology from the perspective of the end-user or the developer seems less and less beneficial.
Search engine wars: If you can't beat them, join up
Okay, here's yet another idea. There is no way that Ask, Microsoft, or Yahoo can beat Google together. But what if they teamed up?
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Quotes
Having been blacklisted from working in television during the McCarthy era, I know the harm of government using private corporations to intrude into the lives of innocent Americans. When government uses the telephone companies to create massive databases of all our phone calls it has gone too far.