As one of Microsoft Corp.'s model customers, Keith Raffel expected the software giant to lend his Silicon Valley startup, UpShot Corp., a helping hand in outmaneuvering the competition. Instead, Microsoft, which on Friday emerged from its five-year antitrust battle as strong as ever, became the competition. Sitting at a desk bought in a two-for-$25 deal from a used furniture seller, Raffel built his Mountain View, Calif., company into a 100-employee operation. UpShot's business management software sits on top of computer-server and database platforms by Microsoft, whose Silicon Valley campus is a mile away. ''We're a poster child for Microsoft's Web services vision,'' Raffel said.
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