Top ten reasons why Microsoft is a good citizen
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COMMENTARY--One of the main things that you give up upon leaving the United States is late-night television. I haven't seen David Letterman in over two years. My cultural lifeline to theEtats-Unis (as the natives here in Switzerland call it) hasbeen Conan O'Brien as featured on CNBC, although I'mfinding that my ability to recognize his guests isinversely proportional to the amount of time I spendin Europe.Thus, in honor of my one-time favorite late-night talkshow, I present the top 10 reasons why Microsoft is agood corporate citizen.
10. Microsoft drives computing costs down
With all the rhetoric surrounding Linux and its"free" status, it is often forgotten why consumers (Linux users included) pay so littlefor computer hardware these days. Not only haveMicrosoft's desktop efforts led to led to greater hardware economics of scale,the company has actively worked to drive down hardwareprices through standard PC specifications, includingsimple things like the WinModem. Though WinModemsdrive Linux aficionados to distraction, the reasonWinModems exist is that they cost less, savingconsumers money on new PCs.
Furthermore, let's not forget that Microsoft has historically charged FAR less than its proprietarycousins. Compared to Sun Microsystems'high-priced Unix servers, Oracle's incrediblyexpensive database and the price combo of Applehardware with ANY Apple OS, Microsoft products havebeen an incredible bargain.
9. Microsoft has been instrumental in bringingcomputing to ordinary people
Although thatmight be a "negative" for those who don't want to be bothered by hordes of"newbies," non-technical computer users wouldn't be on the Internet if it weren't for handholding from companies such as AOL and, of course,Microsoft. Through its marketing and products, Microsoft has done more than any other company to help users find ways to integratecomputing into their daily lives.
8. Microsoft employees absolutely lovetheir company
Microsoft regularly is ranked oneof the best places to work. Programmers are respected,and creativity is encouraged. Plus, the company payswell to boot. That leads to one of the lowest employee turnover rates inthe industry, even at a time when the company is in the midst of a government suitwhich has dragged its name through the mud.
7. Microsoft pays loads in taxes 6. Its founder has donated more money to charitythan anyone in history 5. Microsoft creates a computing economyworth far greater than its own net worth 4. One of the largest R&D budgets in theindustry 3. Microsoft takes risks Microsoft is the primary competitor to theseleading companies in most of these markets, whichhelps boost quality and innovation. I might be going off on atangent, but if Microsoft can enter already dominated markets and manage to keep itshead above water, why can't other large companies compete in marketsMicrosoft dominates? 2. A beacon of profitability in a sea of redink And last but not least... 1. No accounting scandals at Microsoft So there you have it. My apologies to David Lettermanfor dragging him into the mother of all geek wars. John Carroll is a software engineer who lives in Switzerland. He specializes in the design and development of distributed systems using Java and .Net.
According to information found on
At the last count, Bill Gates, as an individual, has given about $22 billion--or just under 26 aircraft carriers--to charity. To putthat in perspective, George Soros' donations as an individual total a "measly" $2billion. Andrew Carnegie, the famed philanthropist, gaveonly $3 billion in current dollars over the course ofhis life.
If one counts up all the companies that developWindows-compatible software (including such industry luminaries such as Oracle and IBM), all the hardwarecompanies that make money selling to Windows users,and all the technicians engaged in writing softwarefor Windows or providing technical support for it,you'll find that there is far more money made fromMicrosoft products outside of Redmond than is made inside of it.
In fiscal year 2001, Microsoft spent $4.4billion, a spending total that rose to more than $5 billion infiscal year 2002. R&D benefits us all throughtechnological advancements. Though developingsoftware that is more productive might not seem as earth-shattering as,say, finding a cure for cancer, such advances improve theefficiency of the digital infrastructure upon which webuild our lives.
This might seem a strangereason to consider Microsoft a good corporate citizen,but consider the results. How many companies wouldhave the courage--much less the stamina--to take onSony in game consoles, Palm computing in handhelds,Sun in server operating systems, Oracle and IBM indatabases, AOL in internet access, and practicallyevery wireless phone maker in existence (Nokia andEricsson among them) in the provision of operatingsystems for advanced cell phones? Not many.
Microsoft is one of the few companies TO have managed to maintain robust salesthroughout the current recession. That should matter to those who careabout the health of the U.S. economy.
In contrast to all the revenue-padding at Enron,WorldCom and even
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