Top ten reasons why Microsoft is a good citizen
Thus, in honor of my one-time favorite late-night talk show, I present the top 10 reasons why Microsoft is a good 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 little
for computer hardware these days. Not only have
Microsoft's desktop efforts led to led to greater hardware economics of scale,
the company has actively worked to drive down hardware
prices through standard PC specifications, including
simple things like the WinModem. Though WinModems
drive Linux aficionados to distraction, the reason
WinModems exist is that they cost less, saving
consumers money on new PCs.
Furthermore, let's not forget that Microsoft has historically charged FAR less than its proprietary cousins. Compared to Sun Microsystems' high-priced Unix servers, Oracle's incredibly expensive database and the price combo of Apple hardware with ANY Apple OS, Microsoft products have been an incredible bargain.
9. Microsoft has been instrumental in bringing
computing to ordinary people
Although that
might 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 integrate
computing into their daily lives.
8. Microsoft employees absolutely love
their company
Microsoft regularly is ranked one
of the best places to work. Programmers are respected,
and creativity is encouraged. Plus, the company pays
well to boot. That leads to one of the lowest employee turnover rates in
the industry, even at a time when the company is in the midst of a government suit
which has dragged its name through the mud.
7. Microsoft pays loads in taxes
According to information found on Yahoo Financials, Microsoft paid $1.288 billion dollars
in income taxes for the fiscal quarter ended
March 31. This will probably go down in the history
books as my stupidest analogy ever, but imagine
Microsoft paid that sum in pennies. A penny weighs
2.5 grams, and at a grams-to-pounds conversion rate of
.002205, would result in a weight of pennies of
approximately 270,774,000 pounds (or 135,387 short
tons). To put that in perspective, the USS Eisenhower
aircraft carrier weighs in at 95,000 tons, making
Microsoft's quarterly income tax charge worht the weight of 1.5 aircraft carriers.
6. Its founder has donated more money to charity
than anyone in history
At the last count, Bill Gates, as an individual, has given about $22 billion--or just under 26 aircraft carriers--to charity. To put
that in perspective, George Soros' donations as an individual total a "measly" $2
billion. Andrew Carnegie, the famed philanthropist, gave
only $3 billion in current dollars over the course of
his life.
5. Microsoft creates a computing economy
worth far greater than its own net worth
If one counts up all the companies that develop
Windows-compatible software (including such industry luminaries such as Oracle and IBM), all the hardware
companies that make money selling to Windows users,
and all the technicians engaged in writing software
for Windows or providing technical support for it,
you'll find that there is far more money made from
Microsoft products outside of Redmond than is made inside of it.
4. One of the largest R&D budgets in the
industry
In fiscal year 2001, Microsoft spent $4.4
billion, a spending total that rose to more than $5 billion in
fiscal year 2002. R&D benefits us all through
technological advancements. Though developing
software that is more productive might not seem as earth-shattering as,
say, finding a cure for cancer, such advances improve the
efficiency of the digital infrastructure upon which we
build our lives.
3. Microsoft takes risks
This might seem a strange
reason to consider Microsoft a good corporate citizen,
but consider the results. How many companies would
have the courage--much less the stamina--to take on
Sony in game consoles, Palm computing in handhelds,
Sun in server operating systems, Oracle and IBM in
databases, AOL in internet access, and practically
every wireless phone maker in existence (Nokia and
Ericsson among them) in the provision of operating
systems for advanced cell phones? Not many.
Microsoft is the primary competitor to these leading companies in most of these markets, which helps boost quality and innovation. I might be going off on a tangent, but if Microsoft can enter already dominated markets and manage to keep its head above water, why can't other large companies compete in markets Microsoft dominates?
2. A beacon of profitability in a sea of red
ink
Microsoft is one of the few companies TO have managed to maintain robust sales
throughout the current recession. That should matter to those who care
about the health of the U.S. economy.
And last but not least...
1. No accounting scandals at Microsoft
In contrast to all the revenue-padding at Enron,
WorldCom and even AOL,
Microsoft was prompted by the Securities and Exchange Commission to adjust its past
income upwards.
So there you have it. My apologies to David Letterman for 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.