Earlier quoted context omitted.
>I'd love to see a few smaller software companies refuse to get bought up and instead cultivate an independent mindset. Didn't Oakley sunglasses try something similar when Luxottica first tried to buy them and then Luxottica managed to ruin them and ended up buying them much cheaper? And hasn't Microsoft already done the same to a large number of startups?
> And hasn't Microsoft already done the same to a large number of startups? Not just startups. They tried to acquire Nokia's handset business and initially failed. Stephen Elop (ex-MS) was installed as new CEO via investor pressure, Nokia abandoned their promising Linux-based phones and changed direction to Windows Mobile and then it was acquired after all. And failed. Elop has, of course, denied having been a trojan…
The market at that point pretty much decided to skip that mess and go with IOS or Android.