SJ Mercury: Analysis: Microsoft may have only itself to blame

“Microsoft Corp.’s future didn’t have to be this dark. Defiant
and confident since day one in its antitrust dispute with the
government, the world’s largest software maker has dug itself into
a deep hole with its all-or-nothing legal strategy, observers say.
And with no sign that the company is willing to back down now, they
say Microsoft is only making it harder to pick up the
pieces.”

“The two-year legal battle has taken a toll on the Redmond,
Wash.-based company. It faces a potential breakup, its stock is
falling, people are leaving and its image has soured. Still,
Microsoft officials continued Monday to repeat their mantra that
the company is far from being in a hole and will ultimately win on
appeal. It’s that undaunted confidence, observers said, that got
Microsoft into the quicksand in the first place.”

“They’ve done themselves a tremendous amount of harm,” said
Charles Rutstein, an analyst at Forrester Research in Cambridge,
Mass. “They’ve come across as arrogant, short-sighted and
obstinate. In a battle fought in the public arena, these are not
the things you want associated with you.”

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