Microsoft's Faustian bargains
ZDNet | at | by Mike
Some chalk Microsoft's success up to innovation and technical ability. Others attribute it to the software maker's knack of exploiting other people's inventions. Personally, I give the credit to its negotiating skills. There are few, if any, organizations in the world today with the same prowess in drafting contracts as the Redmond, Wash.-based behemoth. Time and time again, Microsoft manages to craft cagey deals that make friends out of enemies--or that compel friends to engage in alliances they might not otherwise want to make. Founder Bill Gates isn't evil, as conspiracy theorists like to allege--he's just the Otto von Bismarck of his day.