Was it Bad that Oracle Spied on Microsoft?

from the that-depends dept

I've been debating whether or not to post anything about this whole "Oracle spying on Microsoft" issue. Quick summary: Microsoft freaked out and screamed "conspiracy" when it discovered someone offered janitors at a "public advocacy" group money for their trash. The purchaser was apparently trying to establish ties of the group to Microsoft. Then there was news that the group doing the spying used to work for Microsoft themselves. Finally, yesterday, Oracle admitted to hiring the group for this particular spying job. Was this a bad thing? According to the following article, not at all. Apparently, what the group discovered was that these "public advocacy" groups really were fronts for Microsoft, and thus shouldn't be trusted. Let's face it, companies definitely do underhanded things, and if anyone were a poster child for such practices, it's Microsoft itself. So, to see them suddenly complaining seems a bit odd.