[SEMW]

> I'm surprised no Microsoft alternatives are mentioned ... Also, Yahoo ...

The author explains why he didn't consider them in his second paragraph: "Moving, for example, from Google Calendar to Yahoo Calendar solves very little in the long run, because Yahoo’s business interests are exactly the same as Google’s: advertising and consumer lock-in."

[gurkendoktor]

I don't think Microsoft cares about advertisement to the same degree that Yahoo and Google do. Of course they will still try to lock you in.