The definition of insanity is doing the same thing and expecting a different result. Microsoft has been trying to extinguish their competition for decades now; what makes you think they're going to be different this time?
The company would be worse off if they do not stick to this direction and start backstabbing. It is bad enough that companies are legal persons, let's not anthropomorphize them even more into irrational evil villains that hold grudges.
Decades of history, and their own self-interest.
>Fact is you have no idea
Sure I do. They've acted this way for decades, under various different management. To think they're suddenly going to become some nice, ethical company is sheer lunacy.
>and all signs point to a more open MS that has learned that simply throwing their weight around won't work anymore.
What signs? I haven't seen any. They've done stuff just like this before, and it always turned out badly.