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Microsoft And US Have Until April 6 To Make A Deal
bahwi writes: "It looks like Judge Jackson has decided to wait until April 6 to issue his next ruling. Most of the states and the Justice Department want a structural change (read "company breakup") and don't want to settle for anything less, but Microsoft keeps saying no. The last two paragraphs are an interesting read, too. Read more about it at
Wired."
You can go right on admitting that, too. It does one thing, and only one thing, well, and that is user interface. With uptime measured in the hours, hundreds of millions being spent in technical support for NT servers, a half-billion dollar state-of-the-art Navy ship sitting dead in the water over a divide by zero error, and questionable security, I would disagree with you. Windows is good UI.. nothing else. I've been in tech support going on three years. A substantial (almost 10%) of my calls are due to windows-related instability which results in secondary problems - the ones I deal with. Corrupt data, confusion, non-working programs, just to name a few of the more obvious problems.
It's a whole lot easier to set up and use "out of the box" than Linux.
Maybe for you.
ome may argue that it's "good" because of anti-competitive integration with the operating system, but regardless,
Well, this WAS an anti-trust trial... heaven forbid they'd be found guilty and then allowed to keep screwing over the competition.. and the customer.
Breaking up Microsoft will have little effect on its day-to-day business.
Hey, I'm going to take you, and put your arm across the street, your head on the kitchen stove, your legs will be in the shower. And your car keys are in your pants.. in the dryer. This won't affect your day's planning, will it?
Microsoft shouldn't be punished for having a better product.
You're right. It should be punished for so completely oblitherating competition that no other products existed to compare it to.
And one more note: why open up the Windows source code?
Oh, I don't know. Interoperability, put a stop to the extend-and-embrace tactics, proprietary standards, and higher costs as a result of needing to work around that?
Perhaps forcible documentation of everything in Windows is a good idea
You mean like they're doing now? "Sure, we're using Kerberos, an open and highly documented standard.. and don't worry about that unused field over there.. even though we're using it to keep you out of our network.."
Be has basically NO printer support what-so-ever which knocks it out of the "Operating System Contender Category" let's call it the OSCC ...
Of course, we all know what happened that fateful day when RMS couldn't get a printer driver....
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Back in the day, I remember the DOJ forcing a media conglomerate in our town to sell off some stations -- the owner was pissed and hated it, but he had to obey the law, just like us little people. A company can't do anything it wants; might does not make right.
In another instance, a company I knew of was regulary breaking the law; failing to honor contracts, etc. Eventually (it took awhile) the city rescinded their right to do business.
How many of you have seen restaurants closed down for a week by the health department? I've seen several. They fail to properly handle the food, they get penalized. At least there are other restaurants...think about that one.
Microsoft attained it's position by breaking federal and state laws repeatedly. They grossly violated written contracts with Sun, IBM, Novell and STAC, and in the case of Borland, launched a covert operation to brain-drain the company through a elaborate "technology day" at a nearby hotel, which was in actuality a Microsoft recruiting center. This was a completely illegal manouver (brain draining a competitor is a crime in California) but it did give MS Borland's high end developers, including Anders Helsjborg(sp), the chief architect of Delphi, arguably the most terrifying piece of software BG ever saw. In every case, Microsoft tied up the various plaintif's resources until the bitter end, only offering to settle in the final days of the trial.
Microsoft is the mafia without the murder. Although I bet you could find some people who were pushed to suicide after there companies were ruined by MS. Murder? That would be a stretch.
Criminal behavior used to obtain their current market share? No doubt whatsoever. This wasn't innovation, this wasn't healthy corporate aggression. It's the cogent, repeated use of criminal behavior to increase profitablility and market share.
The government intervention is proper. When freedom fails, the government has to step in to correct the injustice. Just as you would call the police if you saw a crime committed, many companies in many states have had enough. And many citizens have had enough. They overwhelmingly support action against Microsoft.
As I recall, IBM wiseley settled their case with the DOJ in the 1970's. MS, Sun, SGI, Apple probably never would have happened without that settlement. I have heard part of the agreement allowed the R&D departments of competitors, as well as inspectors from the government, to review IBM engineering tasks prior to implementation, and some measure of control.
Is IBM dead now? Were they broken up? No, and no. IBM is a big, powerful, robust company that is fairly cutting edge in a number of technologies. Does IBM sell anything you can't get from a competitor? Not really. The solution worked.
Similarly, the DOJ needs to come up with a system to end Microsoft's illegal activities, and implement the necessary strategies such that MS' market share is (eventually) dropped to 33% (or less) of the desktop and/or servers.
Micosoft forced this issue by failing to recognize what it means to do business in America. There are rules you have to live by, like it or not. Microsoft could have a very favorable, healthy image in the eyes of the government and the public if they would have dome the right thing -- settle the case, admit their errors, accept that they would be forced to lose market share for the common good, and as a penalty for illegal behavior. But no, Bill Gates won't have that. It's all or nothing, baby! Megalomania roolz!
So be it. You made your bed...
Treatment, not tyranny. End the drug war and free our American POWs.
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