Microsoft is far more transparent than Apple

I wrote a little while ago about Apple failing to live up to the standard of an Open Company. It pains me to admit, but Microsoft, thanks to their top-down commitment to blogging and Robert Scoble, is kicking Apple's ass in this department. Letting me see (Channel 9) and talk to (blogs) the people building Microsoft's products is one of the smartest things they have ever done.

I am forced to admit that there are good and smart people working for Microsoft, each of whom is trying their best to make the right decisions and build the best software. It has caused me to think of Microsoft as something other than a monolithic, monopolistic predator out to dominate every industry, destroy all competition and force me to use poorly designed software. Of course, I have to remind myself that Microsoft is actually both of these: good people and a monopolistic predator. But we should try to work with the former without letting our guard down against the latter.