Microsoft would never stop in its tracks. That's just not in the personality of the CEO, and the personality of the CEO is what really guides the company. Gates is one of the most focused, persistent, driven and brilliant people that you could ever encounter. He is always moving forward. I think that kind of relentlessness has got to be exhausting to competitors.
Many successful companies wind up being the target of humor.
That goes with the honor of being in a strong position. Gates certainly did not freeze like a rabbit when he realized the importance of the Internet. That was really an extraordinary experience - to be at the company when that was all happening. When we started our group, we wanted an Internet tap for our offices because we wanted to be able to track things that were going on in our area. We were told there was no way that we could get Internet tap, because that would be a breach of the firewall that would not be tolerated.