Microsoft's roadkill on the journey to Windows 7
Since its inception, Microsoft has made a practice of folding innovation by others into its proprietary products. Windows 7 is no exception. Beginning with version 1.0, Windows has accreted features that often eclipsed third-party products, sometimes killing them in the process.
This isn't to say that Microsoft doesn't innovate on its own -- clearly it does. The question is: Why does Microsoft so frequently, and completely, vanquish third-party software by merging their capabilities into its OS? Is it for competitive advantage? Perhaps, as bundled features ultimately cost users less, although at the expense of future innovation through competition. Or could it be part of Microsoft's ongoing efforts to lock in its customer base? Frequently Microsoft's versions of third-party capabilities add proprietary code and protocols that limit their use to Windows, and Windows only.
