The BBC has an article, prompted by Bill Gates’ retirement from Microsoft, on how the company thrived because of the failings of its competitors.

I find this ironic. What gave Apple its big break in music, and in gaining market share for the Mac? What gave FireFox its big break in web browsers? Maybe even Google’s success is enabled in part by Microsoft’s failure to compete effectively.

The description of the young, nimble Microsoft is quite a contrast with the company today, which takes around a year to get a product from a feature-complete development stage, to actual shipping.