after the rumored buyout of google by microsoft, i wrote them an email saying that, considering the beating they are taking in the public image department, maybe they should stop buying everyone out and work together with promising smaller companies or innovative technologies.

Are you saying you wrote to MS or creature house? Or are you talking about Apple, also on the "Buy them out and let them languish" spree.

...wanted to buy my company, it would just be a matter of how much and when. And then I'd take some of the money and start another company. Lather, rinse, repeat.

the people who sold that company are RICH, Richer than your wildest dreams, so they don't give a s***! Glad microsoft got it. They need to start buying some more companies.

i don't disagree with your first point, but

"...Glad microsoft got it. They need to start buying some more companies."

are you being sarcastic, or just delusional???

p.s. i wrote that "just yesterday" email to microsoft. i mean, they could do so much to leverage google's place in the insutry, and repair some bruised public image, by working WITH google and these other companies, without having to engulf them.

and before we all make comparisons of "apple is no better -- look at everyone they've bought out," there IS a difference. apple at least has some focus to their acquisitions. they bought final cut from macromedia (which mm was just going to let die before it saw the light of day). when that really took off, they saw that they were in a position betweem the hardware, the I/O of firewire, and a new competing software to make strides in the digital video market, and started buying into that market.

MS, on the other hand, just buys in EVERY market, and then figures out how to glom them together afterwards. hotmail's popular? good, buy 'em out. bungie's popular? okay, buy them too. how about google? do they have a price? maybe we can get a drawing application, too. look around for someone small with some cool patents. creature house? great! wave seven zeroes on a check under their noses. and those are just the most notable i remember over the past 5 to 7 years. i'm sure i am forgetting lots of others.

is it the good ol' fashioned "hey, it's their choice to make the transaction... creature house didn't have to sell out." oh, come on. i may be idealistic, but i'm also realistic. i don't fault CH for handing over the technology. they earned it, and maybe they can bring more innovation to the market later if they want to.

and that word was supposed to be "industry"... my keyboard and brain suck lately. maybe i need more sleep... zzzzzzZZZZzzzz...

I wonder if they wanted a better clip art format? All the stuff on the creature house website looks like MS clipart from the online gallery.