Microsoft has mediocre products, especially in the hardware. I have no reason to wish them well. Nokia had very good phones back in the days: reliable, long-lasting. When I compare it with crappy Microsoft hardware, there's no competition.
I know you seen to have a strong anti-MS bias and are trying to make your case, but this set of points is not a good way to get there. MS actually makes some great pieces of hardware. Some of the best mice I've ever had were MS mice. The Xbox One is very well built. The surface devices are of very high quality, and are great devices to use. The Zune HD's were so great when they came out.
The only piece of hardware they have released recently that has had legitimate hardware issues was the original 360 models. I still thought they were cool when they came out, but they did cut too many corners to make that 2005 launch to beat Sony. They still managed to pack it with pretty good specs, despite the motherboard issues and the newer versions of the 360 have been pretty nice, but they should have dealt with that sooner.
Sure you could go on about how some of the hardware they release doesn't sell as well as other (Apple) devices, etc., but it isn't because they're not high quality/built well. If anything, their low end tablets could be made cheaper to compete better with the really cheap Android tablets.
I do think Nokia makes (made) some awesome hardware. The Nokia icon I have more has been one of my favorite phones ever. I wish Nokia had a bigger presence in the US before, could never get them on stupid Verizon...I am sad to see them go, and am not super thrilled about the acquisition... But at least the company is still around (huge here maps fan, huzzah for offline makes!).
This is how things work according to the capitalistic ethos you follow. I don't.
Yeah, I get what you're saying but Europe is still plenty capitalistic. Don't get me wrong, I love your continent and the way you guys live life, but it's not hard to see that people still like their stuff over there. Yeah, might be in different ways, and not to the same degree as we (often embarrassingly) take it to over here in the states, but we're not all that different from each other at our cores.
I do enjoy that it is much less intense over there, though. And that you guys are good at keeping the huge companies in check a lot better than our country does...we could definitely learn a thing, or two, from that Euro culture (yeah I know there are a lot of countries I'm lumping together, but I think you get my point).
But unfortunately this nasty stuff is the reality of the work we live in now. Especially now that the world markets are more intertwined than ever before. I certainly am not a fan, but I am also realistic and understand why it occurs.