Where is the loyalty line?

For a while I thought that any Microsoft employee who purchased an Ipod or Tivo was being disloyal. By acting contrary to the goals of the company (and your own long-term stock performance), you were being disloyal.

I may be reconsidering, though I'm not sure.

Each of us does things everyday that are short-term benefits at the expense of long-term gain (diet and exercise being the most obvious). If you want to take the long-term stock hit in return for an iPod or a Tivo, then go for it. What's more, as a believer in free markets, if the iPod is a better product, then it should win.

Still haven't resolved this, however, for people whose paychecks depend on the success of competing products.

Full disclosure: I have neither an iPod nor Tivo. Of course, Blogger is owned by Google :-)