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I refer (of course) to the likes of Telecom, Microsoft and even the government itself.

So, maybe today is a time for me to take the stand of angel's advocate and look closely at what good things have been done by the big-boys (and girls) that control so much of the industry.

Telecom CEO Theresa Gattung was recently heard to cry that nobody ever looks at all the good things her company has done -- well why don't we try that.

I have to say that I've always been most impressed with the speed and efficiency of Telecom's faults service. They seem to respond quickly and sort out problems in a very short space of time -- mind you, most of this work is outsourced so does that count?

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What about Microsoft?

They seem to have taken the issue of security a lot more seriously of late and seem to be far more "on the ball" when it comes to sorting vulnerabilities in their code.

We have to remember that they're an awfully big target, so it's only natural that they're going to be shot at (and hit) far more often than other players. With this in mind, it's probably quite surprising that there aren't more woes associated with Microsoft software.

And the government... well I guess they've tried hard.

Anderton's technology grants have probably helped some who would never have otherwise got the kickstart they needed in order to get projects off the ground.

The ITC minister has made lots of noise about hauling Telecom into line and this has resulted in more sensible business DSL plans being (finally) launched in the past month or so.

Okay, maybe all of this isn't really very much, but let's be thankful for small mercies shall we.

But what's public opinion in the IT sector like when it comes to these goliaths?

Do you have any "good news" stories or endorsements of Telecom, Microsoft or the government's recent activities or initiatives?

What kind of positive (or otherwise) first-hand experiences have you had with these organisations?

Are we knocking them simply because they're big targets and it's easy to do? Or are they still as bad as ever they were?

Submissions from the organisations concerned are more than welcome.

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