"Matt W. Barrow" wrote in message
...

Maybe you could verify something for me: I've heard for some time that,
though MS is quick to prosecute piracy and reverse engineering MS stuff,
they expend copious amounts of money reverse engineering competitors
products.

True or trash?

Well, my only experience to that end was with Netscape Communicator/Internet
Explorer, but, once you catch a thief you might as well always assume
they're thieves, especially when their other products look so much like,
say, Lotus 1-2-3 (Excel) or Word Perfect (Word.)
I would say that's very accurate.

Microsoft didn't invent the word processor, spreadsheet, e-mail application
or web browser, but they sure sell a lot. I know people who work for
companies under the Microsoft-owned umbrella who don't reverse-engineer
code, but it clearly happens.

-c