REBLAME THOSE THAT BROKE THE LAW JOHN
Would you care to elaborate. Please specify which particular laws MSFT broke, and how. COnsider the following:
1) Sun is losing money on StarOffice. They bought the company and are giving it away free. They have publically stated that their goal is to take MSFT share from MSFT. How is this different from MSFT using IE as a loss leader? Is it , in fact, illegal?
2) AOL has huge internet market share. A virtual monopoly, they have lousy service. They have closed their instant messaging off from all competitors, and are making Netscape navigator the AOL browser. AOL users will not have any choice. Are they using their near monopoly to stiffle competition, and kill IE?
MSFT has definitely crossed the line. I do not belive that IE was that crossing. With regards to IE, MSFT reacted late to death threats from their competition. The real problem that needs correction is MSFT's OS pricing policy. I do not believe that this warrants a breakup. Just a reasonable fine, and close monitoring. MSFT is no more aggressive than AT&T, IBM or Intel, and does not deserve to be treated any differently just because they have money.
I am concerned that the "holy war" mentality of MSFT's opponents leaves little room for reason. It is pretty much a given that MAC, Unix, and OS/2 zealots will concede nothing with regards to MSFT OS and Apps. the "PC users are all mindless drones who have been brainwashed by the evil empire" mentality is one of disturbing arrogance. How a few people can think they know so much more than everyone else, and think that they should be allowed to stuff their solutions on the masses is scary. Socialism/communism did not die. The elitists have just replaced revolution with litigation as the primary means of wealth redistribution. But just like the previous generation of Communist/socialist elites the redistribution is from the haves to the elites at the expense of the average person. Am I the only one to notice that class action lawsuits are initiated by lawyers, and settlements always favor the lawyers.
I am confident that reason will prevail. The higher courts will reverse the most substantial of the findings, and a fair solution will be reached. |
