I think you're selling yourself and the value of your skills too short! But more importantly, I hope you see the question isn't whether huge volume matters. It

I think you're selling yourself and the value of your skills too short! But more importantly, I hope you see the question isn't whether huge volume matters. It's whether it's nearly the only thing that matters. The quote you cited is quite innocuous, an exec saying they have "brilliant people, working tirelessly to improve its products." Twisting that quote to suggest they are a liar seems really unfair. I'd also say leadership matters, not just engineers. Microsoft says their shareholders would have struggled to accept the high price tag of a deal with Apple. That's their fault? Either that, or they don't believe their own argument here.