I agree with you, jwenting. I think Microsoft gets a bad rap for software quality when, in fact, their software quality is usually as good or better than other software. Part of it is, I think, that their software is just so used and visible that statistically speaking, of course the absolute number of bugs is going to be higher.
The one exception IMO seems to be that in many cases, the first released version is a bit inferior/buggy, but Microsoft seems to be excellent at taking user feedback from the initial versions and using it to quickly produce a superior product. That's why the usability of their products is generally very good IMO.
My issues with Microsoft are about their culture and practices of "success at any cost", including many less-than-honorable (some might say "anti-competitive") business practices toward both business and consumer customers.
It's obvious in big things like Netscape and DR-DOS, but also appears in scores of little places too, like the latest push to only include the latest IE with the newest Windows OS. My next PC will run Linux not because of any low quality of Microsoft products, but because of Microsoft's business practices.
