[tokipin]

and if they did replicate it, everyone would call them assholes. maybe they're trying not to paint a bad image of themselves

[euccastro]

Or phrasing it in a more positive way: by rewarding these guys they are encouraging others to do R&D for them.

It's not like a few million more or less mean much to Microsoft anyway.

[ajju]

Microsoft not doing something that could make them money and is in all likelihood perfectly legal (not that that has stopped them in the past) just to "not be called assholes"? Really?