I have to disagree a bit. Microsoft is the embodiment of evil in my opinion. What I saw Microsoft do time and time again in situations like this is instead of purchasing the startup company, they would steal the idea (and maybe even a key employee or two), develop their own version in house, and put the startup company out of business. Their own version would be inferior, of course. But their size and ruthlessness made it impossible for any startup to complete. This was purely a win-lose style of business. Microsoft would win and make sure that everyone else lost.

Google is more traditional in that they are not so blatantly cut-throat in the capitalistic ecosystem. When they purchase startups, that's win-win for the entrepreneurs and for Google.

Now, what Google does wth the information they have about us and how they respect our privacy is a different matter.

But in my book, Google is no where near as evil as Microsoft. We need a few companies to become gorillas to step on Microsoft and to open up an environment where entrepreneurs can start businesses with some hope of success. Back in Microsoft's heyday, they simply sucked all the blood out of every potentially competitive startup.

Just my 2 cents...