Post #7,653
9/4/01 3:53:36 PM
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Yep...sometimes what is substituted...
...is not what you would have chosen given other options.
I actually like antitrust law for that reason...as long as the punishment is suitable to the offense and well thought out.
So far...it appears that neither will be applied in the case of Microsoft.
You were born...and so you're free...so Happy Birthday! Laurie Anderson
[link|mailto:bepatient@aol.com|BePatient]
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Post #7,655
9/4/01 4:05:31 PM
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How so?
A suitable and well thought out punishment? Why do you think this will not be the case? What, in your opinion, would be a suitable punishment/remedy? I am inclined to favor the "burn them at the stake" remedy.
Life is a Cabernet.
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Post #7,660
9/4/01 4:26:50 PM
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Issues...
A breakup creates 2 monopolies instead of one. Given Microsoft's history, that means that the monopoly abuse will just be twice as prevalent.
A good remedy would involve a full disclosure of windows source...making it public domain....(not NT/2000...just win9x code base) any further development of that code base could be conducted by anyone...including MS.
Combined with some type of licensing restriction that limits the MS ability to establish quotas on the OEMs...allowing (and quite possibly forcing) the OEM channel to offer an alternative OS upon purchase of the computer.
I'm just not a big supporter of the current "penalty" of breakup. I don't think it solves the underlying problems.
You were born...and so you're free...so Happy Birthday! Laurie Anderson
[link|mailto:bepatient@aol.com|BePatient]
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Post #7,669
9/4/01 5:23:42 PM
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Good! the nitty-gritty.. finally.
I agree with Mike's prognosis - were laissez-faire to be again the default non-chosen non-remedy. Agree also with your take on the likely effects of mere 'split in 2,3 or 4' clones of the same malignancy.
Believe the cancer metaphor an apt one: M$ is demonstrably a cancer on any idea of 'innovation' and therefore, especially magnified by the hideous repercussions of DMCA, UCITA (and maybe even NAFTA?) - a not merely potential.. but near-certain root-cause of inevitable decline in the er 'relevance' of any US work in the entire IT field.
Does such a situation, if ~ true, not define something like a dire emergency ??
And if *that* is not suficient reason for - an unusual application of the spirit of 'antitrust law' directly towards STOPPING this behemoth cold: then *what* ever, could qualify?
(Natch I hope that DOJ et al Get This, but esecially also the congress-critters - yes, even the Repos amidst the so-called Demos and Repubs! Because if they do not get this, do not see the looming scenario, via mere inspection of Passport, Hailstorm, .net and XP: IMhO, we're Dead. Soon enough.)
My 3 Euro-Dollars. (And *those* will form the economy of the New Non-US worldwide er "IT"). Hey! you monolingues out there: best to start learning yer C in French, Japanese, German and esp Russian.!.
SmallTalk becomes er KleinesGespr\ufffdch
'Jump indirect to self' becomes.. well, get busy..
Personally I prefer a nuclear answer; reform of such diseased minds is as improbable as Jesse Helms marrying a black man.. with Swahili rites, at a rave, while toking on an aromatic leaf...
Ashton
who doesn't hold out much hope, given our Repo record to date
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Post #7,671
9/4/01 5:37:30 PM
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I figured Billy needs a personal punishment.
I figured Janet Reno could dress up in scanty leathers, fishnet hose and pointy heels with plenty of chains and rivets. Strap Billy to a post and let Janet at him with a cat o'nine.
Then I thought, "Hell, the little pervert would probably enjoy it so much he'd try to get punished again and again".
[link|http://www.aaxnet.com|AAx]
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Post #7,676
9/4/01 7:59:40 PM
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Well...
...we could sub Reno for Balmer....
shudder...after seeing the monkey boy routine...he might like it too much too.
Ew...yuck
You were born...and so you're free...so Happy Birthday! Laurie Anderson
[link|mailto:bepatient@aol.com|BePatient]
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Post #7,684
9/4/01 9:23:24 PM
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Then why didn't you describe one? :-)
A personal punishment for BG would be to disbar him from running a business.
Wade.
"All around me are nothing but fakes
Come with me on the biggest fake of all!"
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Post #7,693
9/4/01 10:48:04 PM
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Nope. Then he'd go into politics directly, 'stead of buying'
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Post #7,690
9/4/01 10:16:30 PM
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Re: Issues...
A breakup creates 2 monopolies instead of one. Given Microsoft's history, that means that the monopoly abuse will just be twice as prevalent.
I don't think that's totally right, but close.
The problem is that 2 microsoft's don't have any *incentive* to behave.
5 would.
(Well, I think so).
If you break them into:
* OS (possibly into client/server)
* Internet
* Applications
* Media
* Hardware
For example, now there's much more REASON for API's to be documented.. because now there's no benefit to hiding them. (With 2, you've still got groups that benefit from having the hidden API's).
A good remedy would involve a full disclosure of windows source...making it public domain....(not NT/2000...just win9x code base) any further development of that code base could be conducted by anyone...including MS.
I'm going to have to disagree 100% here. That's a bad remedy. It doesn't "gain" you anything. Sure, now anybody can write to the old Win32 standard, and had this happend 3 years ago, maybe. But now its past that point where it would be (very) useful. So they open the old code they've abandoned, as they're moving onto the NT codebase for all client machines.
Combined with some type of licensing restriction that limits the MS ability to establish quotas on the OEMs...allowing (and quite possibly forcing) the OEM channel to offer an alternative OS upon purchase of the computer.
I don't like this, either.
My alternative would be that OEM contracts are no longer secret, and that there are a certain number of "tiers" established for discounts. So Compaq.. err. HP, knows what Dell paid for its 10k licenses. Take away the possibility of playing each other off of each other, and take away the possibility of getting the licences "yanked" (Which actually, having 5, say, companies reduces dramatically. Since all the software would be licensed individually, a OEM yanking say, Media Player wouldn't change the OS issue...).
Tie that to prices that are fixed for some amount of time, and publized (so if they drop the price to run Be out of business, oh wait, well, you get the picture) - all the OEMs can buy THEN.
And their product announcements are under restrictions like IBM was - can't talk about it until its ready to ship in 90 days ( of course, Microsoft shipping alpha code ANYWAY makes this less effective, but still would cut down some of the crap (like AD)...
And I think Microsoft's abuses would be brought far more into line.
Addison
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