Mr. Raganwald, this is your friend Nickieben Bourbaki. They are mostly right about Google but partially wrong (as explained in another response). They are entir

Mr. Raganwald, this is your friend Nickieben Bourbaki. They are mostly right about Google but partially wrong (as explained in another response). They are entirely wrong about it being a good idea about trying their products (also explained in another response). But more interestingly, they are entirely wrong about their business strategy here. FUD was perfected by IBM when they were the Goliath of computing. When you’re the consensus #1, you are the safe choice. Therefore, if you can make something else appear unsafe, you are going to drive customers to your “safe haven.” In search and data collection, Is Microsoft a safe haven? No. In the eyes of the marketplace, Google probably is, even if nerds and privacy wonks don’t agree. FUD is something Google could probably get away with, but it is going to backfire as a business tactic for Microsoft. Although idealists like yourself would love it if users left both services for alternatives like Duckduckgo, what will actually happen is that anyone who reads the ads and becomes aware that these giant companies are collecting personal data is going to decide to go with someone they trust. Right now, that’s Google, not Microsoft. This is especially true in technical circles where Microsoft has absolutely zero moral credibility. Therefore, I suggest to you that yes, they may be right about Google in some respects, but this is the wrong ad to run for Microsoft the business. p.s. Next time, lock your screen before going for espresso :-)