Gatt wrote:
"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.

I heard a wonderful story a few years ago.

Microsoft found some IBM technology that
appeared to infringe on a Microsoft patent.
The Microsoft lawyers called the IBM lawyers
and arranged a meeting. The Microsoft
lawyers handed the IBM lawyers the patent
in question and in return, the IBM lawyers
reached under the table, picked up a banker's
box filled with patents and gave it to the
Microsoft lawyers...