Hey, damnit! That's my plan!
Oh cut it out and get in line. Not that I went into detail, beyond that it worked ok for AT&T, might work ok for Bill too. I still find the idea of a Microsoft BIOS company good for a chuckle. That Fred's a nut.
I normally wouldn't get into this beyond the sarcastic observation level, having learned my lesson in the past, but wrt. Gerald Lampton and you and divestiture talk, I'll make an exception.
The danger with most obvious breakup plans is leaving entrenched mini-monopolies in place, ala AT&T and the RBOCs. It might fix one problem, the codevelopment of OS and apps which leaves chosen victims in the lurch, but it doesn't really create new competition. But if, as Gerald maybe implied, the sub-Microsofts (Nanosofts?) each had full rights to the existing code (aka "technology") base and could market what they choose, including competing followon OS versions, then we might have competition, in some real sense of the word. Sort of cloning Microsoft instead of breaking it up. Maybe they would actually compete on support and reliability, perish the thought, instead of on what wonderful things were maybe going to be available in a year or so or whenever. That would be good.
Like my runtime system/OS split plan, though,it's nothing I'd hold my breath waiting for. For the moment, more entertainment still seems like the most likely near-term product of the antitrust effort. 5 days to the next act!
Cheers, Dan.
P.S. If Fred's prescient prediction comes to pass, what do you say you, Gerald, and I write to Fred and say we promise to write to DOJ and applaud the effort? I can't say that I'd count, never having advocated a breakup myself, but as sometimes cult leader I've probably said enough other stuff to be an honorary member of the club. |
