Good or bad, Microsoft changed our lives dramatically and all for the better. Leftist and people who hate MS argue that MS didn't and don't need the billions of dollars that it “stole” from its competitors. I suggest that if MS had not been as aggressive, we would not have the consumer technology that we have today. Actually, commoditizing technology has helped the military, too and science, everything.
There is a balance of course.
“Predatory capitalism — RE: Microsoft.”
Eh, seems more like opportunistic capitalism, and there’s nothing wrong with that. It was unfortunate they experienced no real competition for years - it would be good to see some true competition for the desktop/workstation. Steve Jobs gave them a run for their money. Even so, yes, they revolutionized our daily lives, mostly for the good.
Re: that ever-elusive thing called “balance”, the best line I ever heard about that was from, of all people, John Mellencamp:
“I know there’s a balance - I see it when I swing past”
Why doesn’t this mechanism make the cost of health care decrease? It seems immune from this trend.