Courtesy of information designer Robin Richards, check this out: a visual map of all 264 companies Microsoft has acquired in its endless quest to dominate the market.

Of course, Microsoft hasn't always played by the rules of acquisition (not to be confused with the Ferengi Rules of Acquisition), but whatever - considering the company's history of (mostly) decent software offerings, I'm willing to look the other way.

Makes you wish we could see one of these for Apple to compare and contrast, huh? Click to make it big!