Well coltm4carbine

I don't think that you are watching Microsoft carefully enough.

I think microsoft shouldn't get into the antispyware business and leave it for the proper companies instead.
This is a magazine review (PC World, I think):

The package is simply a branded version of Giant Company Software's AntiSpyware program, which has been on the market for some time. Microsoft purchased Giant last year. The 6.4MB program works with Windows 2000, Windows XP, and Windows Server 2003.
Microsoft have bought into the AV and antispyware industry. Not just bought the name or the business, they have bought the expertise and a working product.

I believe that they have finally accepted that producing belated patches for their operating systems is not enough, and that they need to be a bit more proactive in their approach.

However, that does not mean that I would trust them entirely, so I would always use other products as well. We know that MS has business relationships with some rather unsavoury (IMO) outfits, and that their antispyware doesn't handle cookies, for example.