Anyone remember the Macintosh Bible? Big thick book... they used to send you free (really) addenda every quarter or so, with updated or rewritten chapters. This was back in the System 6 days.
Argh. Just read the news on the Judge moving to break up Microsoft. This doesn't make sense to me at all! What makes sense to me is forcing Microsoft to open-source Windows.
If anything makes Bill Gates nervous, it's the prospect of open source software putting him out of business. There's a very good reason for that, and this move would drive at the heart of that matter. Think of how Microsoft brought upon the downfall of mighty IBM by helping to spawn the PC clone industry. We'd see exactly the same kind of clone industry springing up here around the Windows platform. That would be healthy for the entire industry. Plus, minimal government oversight and intervention required.
Microsoft says they don't have a monopoly with Windows and they should be allowed to innovate. Fine. Then this shouldn't affect them at all. Consumers would still buy the Microsoft version because it's superior, right? In other words, if Windows weren't worth "monopoly value" to them, then they shouldn't care much. But it would benefit the rest of the industry by opening up the de facto platform standard and giving Microsoft real competition in the form of Windows clones. However, if Windows is of "monopoly value," well, then that's exactly the kind of remedy needed. Fight fire with fire: that's the only game they know how to play.
Slashdot Mirror
Anyone remember the Macintosh Bible? Big thick book... they used to send you free (really) addenda every quarter or so, with updated or rewritten chapters. This was back in the System 6 days.
Argh. Just read the news on the Judge moving to break up Microsoft. This doesn't make sense to me at all! What makes sense to me is forcing Microsoft to open-source Windows.
If anything makes Bill Gates nervous, it's the prospect of open source software putting him out of business. There's a very good reason for that, and this move would drive at the heart of that matter. Think of how Microsoft brought upon the downfall of mighty IBM by helping to spawn the PC clone industry. We'd see exactly the same kind of clone industry springing up here around the Windows platform. That would be healthy for the entire industry. Plus, minimal government oversight and intervention required.
Microsoft says they don't have a monopoly with Windows and they should be allowed to innovate. Fine. Then this shouldn't affect them at all. Consumers would still buy the Microsoft version because it's superior, right? In other words, if Windows weren't worth "monopoly value" to them, then they shouldn't care much. But it would benefit the rest of the industry by opening up the de facto platform standard and giving Microsoft real competition in the form of Windows clones. However, if Windows is of "monopoly value," well, then that's exactly the kind of remedy needed. Fight fire with fire: that's the only game they know how to play.
-jrc