KenB - 11:32 pm on Jan 25, 2010 (gmt 0)

Ballmer is just trying to score cheap marketing points against Google, using posturing and false analogies, just like a politician does against a political opponent. His analogy is totally off base. A better analogy would be refusing to sell arms and/or surveillance equipment to an authoritarian regime.

Yes cyber attacks take place all the time against big companies like Google and Microsoft, but conditions change when the cyber attack is done to benefit a government's effort to silence dissidents.

Would Ballmer be saying the same thing if MSFT had a presence in say Iran and MSFT had been attacked by Iranian operatives out to secure IP and information on Iranian dissidents with the same level of sophistication as those who hit Google? I bet not.

Not everything should be about making a profit at any cost, sometimes a company should stop and think if they really want to enable an authoritarian regime. Maybe, Darth Ballmer as been working for the Evil Empire for too long to realize how evil the quest for profits at any cost is.