Microsoft poised to lead .Net shift
boston.com | at | by Mike
The tactics it used to crush what was then its most dangerous competitor, Netscape Communications Corp., creator of the first commercial Web browser and now part of AOL Time Warner Inc., landed Microsoft in a bitter antitrust case with the Justice Department that left many observers believing Microsoft was on the ropes. But the company has rebounded. Microsoft has ridden out the devastating economic downturn better than many of its competitors, thanks to the dominance of its Windows operating system and Office software tools.
While most other companies are slashing their payrolls and reducing spending, Microsoft said last week that it would add 5,000 jobs to its work force of 50,000 and boost its research-and-development budget by 20 percent, to $5.2 billion.
''There was a time when many of us thought that Microsoft was past its prime,'' said Jerry Fiddler, chairman of Wind River Systems Inc., which makes operating systems for everything from tape recorders to cars - a market Microsoft has been eyeing for years. ''But they've definitely strengthened, no question.''