Because Microsoft Windows is on more than 90 percent of business desktops, many people who criticize the company for anti-competitive practices focus on Windows. The operating system, for example, has steadily bundled various types of tools over the years, leading to the demise of several companies that offered the same tools on a standalone basis. It's worth remembering, though, that the Office applications are a huge part of Microsoft's business, and they, too, are on more than 90 percent of business desktops.
While it's well-known that Microsoft was and is fiercely protective of proprietary aspects of applications such as Word, Excel and Visio, Boycott Novell has been running one of the more revealing series of posts on this topic that I've seen. The series focuses on the Comes vs. Microsoft class-action lawsuit, which sought more than $330 million, alleging anti-competitive practices from the software giant. In particular, it's striking to read some of the messages in this e-mail thread (PDF) regarding Microsoft's openness in the area of file formats for its Office applications.
