Microsoft vs. Google triggers debate

The ongoing legal battle between Microsoft and Google has bloggers talking not just about the specifics of the case, but about what they mean for technology workers as a whole.

A judge this week granted the software giant a restraining order preventing former Microsoft employee Lee Kia-Fu from performing duties for Google that are similar to those he did for his ex-employer. The temporary restraining order stems from a lawsuit Microsoft filed last week against Google and Lee, which claims Lee was breaking a noncompete promise by joining Google as head of its new office in China.

The spat has online communities talking about everything from the fairness of the lawsuit to the concept of employee poaching in the tech world.

Blog community response:

"It's not like this will be the first time that Microsoft will have used dirty tricks to stop a rival with better technology. Luckily this time the platform is not the desktop but the Web, so Microsoft will find it harder to exploit its monopoly to stifle competition."
--Strange Stuff

"I don't know about this one. Google says that 'Lee has not disclosed any Microsoft secrets'--yeah right. How can they prove that? He probably used his 'knowledge' of the Microsoft technology as a selling point for Google to hire him. Come on Google. Do you really think the Judge is stupid?...Google, stop trying to make Microsoft look like the bad guy."
--RankedWell.com

"If one has a skill in a highly refined and technical area, restrictions on where one can work are unreasonable because, if you can't work with for a competitor, you can't work, period...Try to imagine a company that has the need for a world class expert on search technology that is not a competitor to Microsoft."
--Ars Technica