Doing the Math in the Microsoft Anti-Trust Cases

coupland writes "Bob Cringely has posted this week's column and has made some interesting comments. He says that regardless of what happens in the EU, DOJ, and class-action proceedings, Microsoft can't lose. Why? Because they make more money by paying lip-service to the law and accepting the occasional fine than by complying. He even does some simple math to prove his point. Fascinating stuff."

Comments

For everyone else's benefit

[Raul654]

The 411 on Bill Jankow

TO antitrust,competition,consumer & trade prac

[NZheretic]

Wednesday, March 10, 2004
A plea for relief from Microsoft's escalating anti-competitive tactics.

An open letter to antitrust, competition, consumer and trade practice monitoring agency officials worldwide.

The role of trade practice and antitrust legislation is to provide the consumer with protection from abusive business practices and monopolies. In one of the most serous cases of monopolization in the information technology industry, the agencies charged with protecting the competitive process and the consumer have utterly failed to stem the offending corporation's anti-competitive practices.

Re:I did the math

[NanoGator]

"2K is barely usable and XP is a joke (IMHO :)"

Those of us that use XP and 2k would not agree with you. They are both a hell of a lot more stable than Win95/98/SE/ME. 2K in particular is very popular with 3D artists who couldn't bear to lose a render to a crash.

Summary

[DarkHelmet]

No need to read the article. Here is what it says in short.

• Microsoft is too big to care about any small-time financial punishment that a government deals out to them, since they still profit heavily in the end.
• Any ruling the DOJ gives Microsoft doesn't mean that Microsoft has to comply to it. This is much like giving somebody who steals 1,000,000 dollars a 1,000 fine, but not force them to give the money back.
• That Cringely guy really likes geometry.

Maybe it's me, but that article was waay too long winded to state the obvious: As long as Microsoft can turn a profit after any sort of penalities given them, they have no motovation to comply to any sort of antitrust regulation.

That, and that Pulpit guy likes Geometry.