You're exactly agreeing with me here. These are bad practices, and we should rail against the practices themselves. The root of the problem is however, in a dif

You're exactly agreeing with me here. These are bad practices, and we should rail against the practices themselves. The root of the problem is however, in a different place. Unfortunately the author writes the article from a point-of-view that implies that this is a "Microsoft versus Open-Source" issue. This is a pity because it allows people to choose sides based on their personal view of Microsoft. It hides the real issue, which is that the Patent system is broken, and the legislative system is bought-and-paid-for by companies who can effectively afford to buy an election. Patent litigation, and the threat thereof affects software companies in numerous ways quite independently of their open, or closed, source nature. Company-favored-legislation is rife across all industries. My point is not that it's ok for MS to behave like this - my point is that to pitch the problem as being caused by MS allows the issue to be clouded - for example should we picket outside Redmond, or the USPO in Washington?