I really don't get that quote by Alex St. John. As I mentioned, you can't blame Microsoft for being the sole company knowing how to properly market an OS. If someone can't develop and market an alternative, then kindly stfu about Microsoft. I wonder what OS Alex St. John was using as he was writing that comment.
Bill Gates and company brilliantly built a company from nothing, maybe they understood a few things better than the likes of IBM or maybe they were just lucky, but even so, you need way more than luck to properly manage a company that went through the growth that they did. In fact they did such a good job that it took the government of the US to step in and make sure that Microsoft didnt end up becoming more powerful than the White House. The story of Bill Gates should be required reading in high school.
Microsoft is under so much pressure from just about every government, that's it a wonder they can innovate anything at all. If they do, all the competition starts screaming anti-trust.