PT Don't cry for Microsoft's competitors. Microsoft's not the only institution which sends different teams off in different directions to solve the same problem.
Schools do it.
And lots of companies inside and outside the high-tech arena seem to find merit in the technique. Regardless of the efficacy of digital Darwinism, some pretty big battles are looming inside the hallowed halls of Redmond. And it will be interesting to see which camp in each case will be the one chosen to survive. Deals like the Nextel-MSN portal one announced this week are just the tip of the iceberg. But maybe not.