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Microsoft Did Us a Favor - Andreessen

These comments are so 1980s. Back in those days, creating some semblance of order was needed. With Commodores, Apples, Ataris, TIs, Sinclairs, the OS landscape was a mess. However, the sleeping giant was always IBM. When they entered the market, the OS standard was created. Microsoft was fortunate that a) IBM selected them and b) IBM allowed them to continue to own and market the OS. This latter strategic mistake by IBM created the clone market and the world as we know it today. To give credit to MS is somewhat simplistic thinking.

However, the landscape has changed. MS is now been fighting a battle of maintaining marketshare and relevance in a world that no longer needs a corporation to define the standard.