[vezzy-fnord]

I have no love for Microsoft or proprietary software, but they still receive so much criticism that it crowds out criticism of other companies that are just as bad today (or even worse) compared to Microsoft today.

They receive far less criticism these days than they have historically. Microsoft hatred in the Linux community is largely considered immature and/or anachronistic, and there is a ton of praise for what Microsoft has been doing with their research division and the service pivot they've been doing as of more recent.

Which other companies are you referring to? Apple? Google? Those get tons of criticism.