Microsoft: A wolf in sheep's clothing is still a wolf

Microsoft has come over all repentant. The world's most aggressive company has rolled over and asked for its tummy to be tickled. Or at least that's how it seems.

On Tuesday, Steve Ballmer made a speech in which he expressed regret for his company's past behaviour. He fully accepted the terms of the antitrust settlement and promised to abide by them.

He spoke about "a new management approach" that focuses more on customer and partner relationships. Microsoft chairman Bill Gates "and I run a very different organisation than we did five years ago", Ballmer said.

And then on Wednesday, Microsoft distributed an email Ballmer had written to customers. In it, Ballmer acknowledged that Microsoft's behaviour with respect to its competitors hadn't won it many friends or allies in the computer technology industry.

"During the antitrust lawsuit, not everyone in our industry raced to support us," Ballmer wrote. "As we listened to our supporters - and our critics - we learned that we needed to take a different perspective on being a good industry leader."

Fine words, but Microsoft didn't get where it is today by listening to anyone other than its own instincts. Its unpopularity in some quarters has done it no harm. It has achieved such huge success because it ruthlessly went after the competition (see Netscape and Psion for reference).

The company has ruthlessly controlled - some would say exploited - its corporate customers. Its new licensing regime has been almost universally unpopular, with Gartner among those believing it'll cost end users dear.

Last week, something more significant happened. The contents of an internal email which Ballmer would rather not have seen go public were leaked. It talked of the company's mistakes in slagging off Linux to anyone who'd listen. "Messages that criticise OSS, Linux and the GPL are NOT effective," the email read.

Note: this email is about the message. Ballmer's speech and the latest email are also about the message. Nothing has changed, only the language. Underneath, the company remains as competitive, focused, driven and - yes - ruthless as it ever was. Good news for shareholders, not so good for the competition.

To use another animal metaphor, the leopard has not changed its spots. It's simply stopped growling.