[ErrantX]

Hmmm. I don't think the comparison with GNU/Linux is 100% clear cut.

At that time Linux was making huge inroads into the server market and anyone not recognising that was going to be laughed at. Microsoft doing so was probably not the biggest driving force in subsequent growth.

The modern equivalent would be not recognising how much of a "threat" Google Chrome is to the other browsers with its brand and growth.

Now, Open Office. I am not convinced that it is a viable threat to Microsofts corporate sales. I know personally of very few (big) corps who could reliably switch to OO - for all manner of reasons.

It is a competitor, sure, and certainly making inroads into the home market. But a serious corporate threat? Not yet.