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LinuxPlanet Interviews Robert Bork

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the weighty-opinions dept.

Greg writes: "Robert Bork, former Supreme Court appointee from the Reagan era and a recent entrant in the MS antitrust case, did an interview over at LinuxPlanet. The topic? The Evil Empire's court settlement." Bork isn't actually new to the Microsoft case or to the subject of monopolies -- his legal experience makes this an interesting read, even for those who don't consider Microsoft an "evil empire."

2 of 276 comments (clear)

  1. The "Remarkability" of the Public Eye? by Ieshan · · Score: 5, Interesting

    "So it is not so remarkable that a noted conservative lawyer would see perfect reason for action to be brought against Microsoft for the transgressions we have all witnessed and experienced over the years; what is remarkable is that people would find such a position at all unusual."

    I'm not sure I agree, at all. Alright, so from an intellectual standpoint, it's ridiculous that the public would find the Judge's position unreasonable, but from the Public's Perspective, it makes perfect sense.

    Mircosoft Provides Software to the Large Majority of the Public that they Encounter Every Single Day for, in their mind, a reasonable price. Therefore, people who use this software have nothing against Microsoft, don't realize what it's doing to the industry as a whole, and keep going with their MSWord/Internet Explorer/WindowsXP Spyware.

    The web has started to become "optimized" for Internet Explorer, but the public doesn't really care, because they aren't seeing the huge technological impairment that Microsoft is - they're only seeing the benefits.

    If and when Microsoft really does make a PR mistake, or Linux finally jumps into the mainstream, I expect the "flyswatter of freedom" (from the article) to crack down on their heads, but for now, they're going to stay afloat because of public opinion and use.

  2. Suppose our worse fears are realised by S.+Allen · · Score: 4, Interesting

    and Microsoft dances away from this with a slap on the wrist. The only saving grace I can think of is that this will go a long way towards fueling the fires of Microsoft paranoia brewing outside the US. More non-US governments will look seriously for Microsoft-free solutions as it becomes crystal clear that the US goverment and Microsoft are sharing the same toothbrush and underwear.