Lest we forget: how Microsoft used to do business

I've heard similar stories from others. Tim Bray is a respected source. In the days of its ruthless ascent to omnipotence Microsoft behaved like the modern GOP:

ongoing · Life Is Complicated

... in 1997, I was sitting on the XML Working Group and co-editing the spec, on a pro bono basis as an indie consultant. Netscape hired me to represent their interests, and when I announced this, controversy ensued. Which is a nice way of saying that Microsoft went berserk; tried unsuccessfully to get me fired as co-editor, and then launched a vicious, deeply personal extended attack in which they tried to destroy my career and took lethal action against a small struggling company because my wife worked there. It was a sideshow of a sideshow of the great campaign to bury Netscape and I’m sure the executives have forgotten; but I haven’t...