Tech companies behaving badly news.com
But, as usual, Microsoft is best. This is my other favorite ilk sister Margie Wylie weighing in on the "kinder, gentler" campaign.
For my money, the motive for Microsoft's recent contrition was stated clearly by Chairman Gates in his spring Consumer Electronics Show address, when he said he wanted to "soften this thing up a little bit" so that Microsoft could just get back to business as usual. The company is learning it must master the fine art of working the system, to be more subtle in achieving its goals.
Microsoft's efforts may be too ham-handed and too late for the company in its current imbroglio over whether it may be allowed to ship Internet Explorer as part of Windows 95. In yesterday's hearing, Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson looked askance on the company's contention that it was getting conflicting instructions from the Justice Department. However, this is hardly the last brush the company will have with the rule of law.
In some ways, the Microsoft apology is like the end of an era--call it an age of innocence when technology companies were young, loud, and brash. Just as it has led the industry in so many other ways, Redmond is leading it once again--only this time, not with its chin.
Whether it wins or loses this contempt hearing, one thing is certainly clear: Microsoft won't be changing its spots, just hiding them more carefully from now on.
Boy, after the week's news, I'd say those spots were showing clearer than ever. Back to the drawing board for the PR guys, probably Bill himself will have to show up somewhere for a reprise of that party animal scene at Comdex. Needless to say, I'll be amused as ever.
Cheers, Dan. |
