EU slaps record fine on Microsoft | CNET News.com

EU slaps record fine on Microsoft | CNET News.com

I have many friends and acquaintances up there in Redmond. They are all very dedicated and talented engineers. I'm personally conflicted on this whole issue. On the one hand, I am convinced that MS has abused its dominant position. On the other hand, I'm also convinced that at the development levels they feel that they are providing true value to the customer. I also believe that they do. I'd have to say that since they've retained the services of many... ahem... former Borlanders, there has been some truly remarkable and innovative technologies. Now I'm not saying that this is a direct result of former Borlanders as they certainly have some very talented engineers that have never worked for Borland. I just find that at the core of many of the new, neat and interesting technologies, there is at least one former Borlander.

Since Microsoft has been under the anti-trust microscope, they have been a much more open company. They have certainly started to show that under that tough exterior, there is a relatively soft underbelly. I've said this many times before, Borland's relationship with Microsoft over the last several years has been better than it has ever been in the past. Yes, part of the reason for that is that Microsoft is trying to keep the anti-trust wolves at bay, but they also really see the value in third-party development tools supporting their platform (Windows).