An Intriguing title, and provocative too! If you want to find out why anyone should be remotely well disposed to Microsoft, you might find this a challenging take on the potentially symbiotic relationship between it and open source free software.
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motters
37 weeks 2 days 14 hours 55 min ago
What might Microsoft do next?
A fair summary of Microsoft's predicament. As a software developer I know that MS have been losing a lot of "mind share" over the last few years, and look set to lose still more in future. With more developers abandoning Windows and the cathedral model it's only a matter of time before users inevitably follow.
In response my guess is that they could release at least one of their traditional "cash cows" as gratis software supported by advertising. Software dumping has worked for them before (Internet Explorer), and would allow them to spread confusion between zero cost and freedom respecting software (something which is already a known problem amongst GNU/Linux users). Simultaneously they could also try to launch patent suits against individual high profile FOSS developers, characterizing them as "intellectual property pirates". It would be legally risky for them, but might succeed in spreading a lot of FUD.