The SeattlePI ran a poll asking whether Microsoft’s anti-competitive practices has actually caused any consumer harm. The result was that a significant majority said “no.”
The problem with this poll, of course, is that it was run in a Seattle-area newspaper. For those of you who don’t live in Seattle, you can’t imagine the extent to which Microsoft is a part of the culture…
<ul><li>There is probably not a single person in the entire Puget Sound area that isn’t related to or good friends with a Microsoft employee.
</li><li>Microsoft is the largest developer and owner of commercial real estate in the entire state of Washington… and that’s just their office buildings.
</li><li>According to some estimates, Microsoft either directly or indirectly generates approximately 8-10% of the total economy of the Puget Sound region.
</li></ul>
So excuse me if I take these poll results with a grain of salt the size of the Space Needle.
Microsoft: No harm, no foul...
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