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You have to read this paper! Microsoft - A History of Anticompetitive Behavior and Consumer Harm [PDF], and it's from the European Committee for Interoperable Systems, or ECIS. ECIS has written it in support of the EU Commission's recent preliminary findings, on January 15, 2009, that Microsoft violated antitrust law by tying IE to Windows. It is, to the best of my knowledge, the first time that the issue of Microsoft's patent threats against Linux have been framed in a context of anticompetitive conduct.
All I can say is I knew bits and pieces of their practices were unethical, but after seeing it all laid out in context like this, my mind has definitely changed.
I'm no longer selling ANY Microsoft products, and have decided to phase out of supporting them. My clients will go with what I recommend, and if they have any question as to why, I'll be more than happy to let them read over this. My job's to work for their interest, not for Microsoft's.
I do "support" two Windows-based systems, but only because they are owned by people who rely on ISV-supplied instructions that assume Windows systems. They each have particular needs, in very small-niche markets, and I don't know enough about their business matters to be able to switch them to Linux-based setups.
However, I (and others who help them) insist on installing FOSS replacements for everything possible: Firefox, Thunderbird, OOo, you name it. The ongoing astonishment at the quality of Free Software is gratifying to see.
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