To All Sane Softees: Another Moral(e) Booster!
November 18, 1999
In Defense of the Romans and Microsoft
"The Life of Brian," a Monty Python movie, which is set in Jerusalem at the beginning of the first millennium, has a very funny scene in it. The hero, Brian, finds himself in a meeting room with the "Judean Peoples Front" a radical zealot group plotting against the Romans. The leader "Reggie," and his two henchmen are preaching to their followers.
Reggie denounces the Romans: "...They've bled us blind. They've taken everything from us, and what have they ever given us in return?
Silence, and then a voice in the rear: "Aqueducts?"
Reggie: "Oh, yeah yeah, they did give us that."
Another voice: "And the sanitation."
Another: " Oh yeah the sanitation Reg, remember what the city used to be like."
Reggie: "Oh all right, I'll grant you that the aqueducts and the sanitation are the two things the Romans have done."
Another voice: "And the roads."
This goes on until Reggie ends up saying: "All right, but apart from the sanitation, medicine, education, wine, public order, irrigation, roads, the fresh water system and public health, what have the Romans ever done for us?"
What made me think of this scene was the recent vilification of Microsoft as a greedy monopoly bleeding us PC owners. As we enter the new millennium, I can visualize this scene recurring, sort of d‚j… vu after 2000 years.
The "Josean Peoples Front" (San Jose that is) with its leader, Scott McNealy (SUN Microsystems), and his two henchmen, Larry Ellison (Oracle) and James Barksdale (Netscape), are standing in front of their followers.
McNealy: "Bill Gates is the richest man in the world and he got that way by bleeding us PC owners. Tell me; What has Microsoft ever done for us?
A voice in the back: "Given us a universal operating system?"
Another voice: "Oh yeah, if IBM had developed their own proprietary operating system the whole PC business would have been theirs. Microsoft and Intel allowed the open architecture we now enjoy."
McNealy: "OK, besides a universal standard operating system; what has Microsoft ever done for us?"
Another voice: "Given us the Windows operating system."
McNealy: "Copied it from Apple they did."
Another voice: "Apple copied it from Xerox PARC. But Microsoft, not Sun or Oracle, developed it for the PC."
McNealy: "OK, but besides the standard operating system and Windows, what has Microsoft ever done for us?"
Another voice: "Universal fonts. Remember when you used to have to load fonts with every application?"
Another voice: "A standardized menu system. Remember when each application used their own command system. Every time you changed applications, you changed the command system."
Finally:
McNealy: "OK, besides giving us a standardized operating system, the Windows GUI system, universal fonts, universal printer and video drivers, Plug and Play, disc optimizing tools, media players, a universally accepted office suite, NT, Front Page, Outlook and Explorer, what has Microsoft ever done for us?"
Sour Grapes from the Josean Peoples Front
Over the last few years, it has been quite apparent to me that a number of companies are trying to destroy Microsoft. They seem to have such a hatred (or is it jealousy) of Bill Gates that they are doing everything possible to undo the perceived monopoly Microsoft has on the PC operating system. Their zeal reminds me of the House Republicans and their hatred of Bill Clinton. Anything goes as long as it hurts Gates.
Finally, these zealots had the Government make their case. Convincing the Judge that Microsoft's is strong-arming PC makers by making them install "Internet Explorer" on their machines (for free!!), when they purchase the Windows operating system. This is now a terrible crime. Poor Dell, poor Compaq, forced to load Microsoft Explorer on their machines. Throw Microsoft in jail.
I wonder if anyone is investigating SUN, Oracle, Netscape, and AOL as to whether they plot together to dethrone Microsoft. They certainly act as if they do. They meet every year with their Keiretsu at the Kleiner Perkins (their common venture capital source) meeting house in Denver. Their latest scheme is to develop a "Java Fund" to promote writing applications in Java.
The problem they have is that they are no more competent than the House Republicans, when it comes to fighting a Bill.
An example of the feeble attempts was the NC or Network Computer. Hyped by Oracle and SUN as the replacement of the PC, this under $500 machine would work only when connected to a server and using Java as its programming language. It would revolutionize computing.
Oracle, in the most disingenuous commercials I have seen, showed a poor student, in a small apartment connected to the Internet with the NC. The announcer claiming that the NC would bring the Internet into poor peoples homes. This commercial was shown on network TV during the Superbowl of 1998. The NC did not even exist then. Oracle did not explain how the child would pay the ISP or where the applications programs would come from. This was a waste of about two million dollars, to take a smack at Gates.
SUN, showing how much they dislike Microsoft, refuses to design their workstations and servers to operate on NT. They would rather only sell their product to UNIX users cutting themselves out of a growing market. Not a very objective decision.
SUN also has bought the rights to a German equivalent to Microsoft Office that runs on Linux. They are giving it away for free.
Put SUN in jail! Hey Larry and Scott. Get a life.
I used to hate Microsoft
As a young man, I disliked Microsoft fiercely. It started when I tried to buy their PASCAL editor and compiler for my CPM computer (KayPro). The cost was $600. I found a company selling "Turbo Pascal" for CPM for $50. It turned out that it actually was a better than Microsoft's. What nerve, I thought, charging $600 for inferior software.
When I got my first DOS machine, an IBM AT, I tried to make a copy of Microsoft's Flight Simulator disk. Both my disk drives started to rattle and shake as though the computer would blow up. I shut off power and never again tried to duplicate a Microsoft disk. What tough people, I thought. Don't fool with them.
I never would use Microsoft products except the operating system, which came with my computer. My word processor was Word Perfect, Spreadsheet was Super Calc, Project Management was Super Project.
When IBM introduced OS2, I ordered my next PC with it on instead of Windows. It took the computer store two weeks to get it stable. When I received the new computer I tried to load a printer driver only to have the whole system crash. After two days of crashes, I cleaned OS2 off the computer and installed Windows 3.1. IBM tech support was non existent. Their tech support line was always busy. My respect for Microsoft went up considerably.
In defense of Microsoft
Today I use Microsoft products almost exclusively. Why? Because I know that every Microsoft product I buy will always be there, fully supported, consistently upgraded and universally used. I know that Bill Gates will be minding the business while Ellison and Jim Clark (Netscape Founder) are sailing, and McNealy is playing hockey. The amount of lasting power these guys have can be demonstrated by the support that they stopped giving to the NC. Now they are trying to hype Linux and running applications over the Internet.
Gates had over 500,000 beta copies of Windows 95 issued to insure that this extremely complex program was bug free. Will SUN do this? These guys want to win the war without using ammunition. They think that they can win using a freeware operating system to unseat a giant. I bet that you will never see a version of Linux that can be installed as easily and trouble free as Windows. Versions of it will be used in captive spaces such as pure Internet machines, but it will never have the support available that Windows offers.
Conquering the World
Recently, I received an email from the Quality Control department of a large multinational company. It was sent from the Singapore office and described the audit my company in Japan would be given. The email contained two attachments. A Microsoft Word document describing the audit and a Microsoft Power Point presentation that we would be given at the time of the audit. Never did the person sending me the email doubt that I (or my colleagues in Japan), would not have the software required to open it. Microsoft has made the world communicate better. It is the standard not only in operating systems but also in business applications.
Until Microsoft Windows in Japanese was introduced each PC maker in Japan would have their own operating system. Today all of Japan uses Windows.
Nationalize Microsoft
The only answer is to nationalize Microsoft. Make it a national treasure. Maybe it actually is a monopoly, but who's fault is that? IBM was far larger than Microsoft but couldn't develop OS2. They had no commitment. Oracle and SUN knew about the Macintosh. Why didn't they make a GUI operating system? Bill Gates and Microsoft rightly deserve what they have accomplished. The Josean Peoples Front should go back to their core businesses and stop trying to beat Microsoft by lobbying the government. Microsoft should agree that it is a monopoly, and that it will in the future operate as one. It must stop strong arming people. Microsoft has won the battle and doesn't need to be a bully anymore, and as a result we are a much richer nation and world.
Download an MP3 file to answer the question, "What have the Romans ever done for us?"
Frank Greenhalgh
November 13, 1999
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About the Author
Frank Greenhalgh has been working in power supplies and systems for 38 years. He has many impressive accomplishments and patents. Over the years he has made significant contributions to Trio Laboratories where he held the position of Chief Design Engineer and was then promoted to Vice President.
He co-founded CEAG Electric Corporation (now ABB CEAG) and developed the first mainframe power system using the droop paralleling concept. He has written numerous articles and columns, presented papers at the milestone PowerCon convention and consulted for ABB CEAG and other companies. Recently his accomplishments include the development of two Web sites, www.fgl.com with the Power Corner and www.amityville.com. Frank is presently functioning as "Director of Technical Sales" for Toritsu Tsushin Kogoyo Corp.
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