Microsoft was a massive corporation

To imply that every single person there was evil to their core simply by association is utterly ridiculous.

I doubt the guy who created Minesweeper was dreaming of world domination while working there

The fish stinks from the head. And yes, some departments have some freedom and some good people.

But it was in the timeframe where the "browser wars" gained momentum, where Microsoft Network tried to "Microsoftify" the Internet etc.

Even if it was a research project by research focussed people it fit in the bigger strategy and gave a friendly face.

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