It cuts both ways. Google smothered Urchin and pissed off customers, but they brought GA to a much wider audience and integrated with the rest of Google system.

It cuts both ways. Google smothered Urchin and pissed off customers, but they brought GA to a much wider audience and integrated with the rest of Google system. Similar for Writely and Grand Central and many more I would bet. It would be really wonderful if companies could use open standards and honest dealing, so that firms could interoperate effectively with out merging&acquiring. Our tax system punishes that, though, so it is much more cost-effective to buy a small company than to buy their product and pay sales tax.