This should be fun....
I have more than a passing acquaintance of what I think of as "the evil empire". Anyone who naively thinks that refers to either Intel or Microsoft needs to look at the bottom line over the last ten years - I wouldn't dare comment on business practices ;-)
Cisco and MS cooperating? Don't make me laugh. Cisco doesn't do "cooperation".
MS are in for a serious shock and frankly given the Vista flop (and it is for business) they can't afford a war with cash-rich Cisco.
Fun for those of us who couldn't care less who wins :-)