Cartoonist at Microsoft
By Techgirl

I quite like Apple products and am a big fan of Linux/Open Source movement.  Perhaps, this soft spot coloured my view of Microsoft for many years.  For a short while, I genuinely believed that Microsoft was the evil empire which would decimate smaller, clever competitors. Now I realize that my anti Microsoft bias was based more on some emotion rather than all fact.

While Microsoft will do everything it can to crush my beloved Linux, it seems that Apple will behave badly now that it has grabbed a large market share of computers, phones and music devices.

Two of America’s top tech journalists – Michael Arrington and Om Malik, have blogged about why they have stopped using the Apple iPhone.  Apple has angered its developer community by rejecting their applications without giving proper reasons. Apple had worked out an informal agreement with Google to not poach each others senior staff.  Yesterday, one of the most prominent tech figures in USA, Jason Calacanis blogged about ‘The case against Apple’.

Till early last year, Apple was seen as the clever, nimble company which had built up cash reserved of $30 billion by ducking and weaving the attacks emerging from behemoth Microsoft.

Today, many are realizing that Apple has a very closed, secretive culture built around the genius of Steve Jobs.

Microsoft now has a softer, human dimension.  Perhaps the biggest reason is because its founder Bill Gates has decided to give most of his billions to charity.   The Microsoft founder took his wife and kids to an NGO in Maharashtra which assists exploited sex workers. The Gates travel to tens of developing countries every year.

Now comes news that a Microsoft employee, David Salaguinto, has been allowed to publish a cartoon strip which takes a dig at bosses and even some Microsoft software. David who works as a Senior Writer for Microsoft Online started the cartoon strip in 2007.  Not only has Microsoft allowed him to put his cartoons on the Microsoft intranet, it has never tried to censor them.

When Microspotting asked David on whether he always wanted to work for Microsoft, his answer was very honest but not very politically correct

“
 Oh, no. I never wanted to work at Microsoft. I was one of those Mac fans — I was about anything but Microsoft. I was a diehard WordPerfect user. I wasn’t going to use Word. Lotus 1-2-3 was my spreadsheet. I remember when Windows 95 came out. I was offended by the idea that Microsoft would try to make Windows pretty.

But after I started working here, I started realizing how great the culture is.

When I started doing my comic, I looked around to see if there was an Apple employee doing a comic, or an IBM employee, or somebody else in the industry. And there just wasn’t. I think it’s awesome that at Microsoft, we can do stuff like this.

The comic could have crashed and burned — all my old Mac friends could have come to my blog just to trash it. It hasn’t happened, and people seem to sort of get a kick that it’s from Microsoft.
“

While one swallow does not make a summer, my anti Microsoft stance has mellowed.  Unlike Apple, Microsoft executives are allowed to talk to news media which have run critical stories.  Heck, I now even use many Microsoft products and they work quite well.  And in my personal view Bill Gates has done more public service than every other tech titan combined.

While Apple continues to behave like a cult run by a cashed up genius, Microsoft has evolved.  And so have I.  Linux is growing exponentially and has demonstrated that a good product will always succeed.

Techgoss note:  Techgirl is a senior Tech journalist who reports on the IT, KPO and KPO Sectors for a leading media house.  In her spare time, she dabbles in satire in her blog http://techgirltalk.blogspot.com