To: Daniel Schuh who wrote (17753 ) 3/4/1998 10:17:00 AM From: Daniel Schuh Read Replies (3) | Respond to
In Senate Testimony, Gates Champions Microsoft nytimes.com Gates, who at age 42 is the nation's wealthiest person, stopped just short of reformulating the famous declaration of Charles E. Wilson, the General Motors president who told Congress in the 1950s, "What was good for our country was good for General Motors and vice versa." Yet at a time when Microsoft is defending itself against both an antitrust suit by the Justice Department and a rising chorus of criticism that it is abusing its considerable power in the marketplace, Gates minced no words about where he believes the real threat to the information age lies. "Will the United States continue its breathtaking technological advances?" Gates asked members of the Senate Judiciary Committee. "I believe the answer is yes -- if innovation is not restricted by government." The government is also considering bringing a broader antitrust case against Microsoft under the Sherman Act, Justice Department officials have said. Gates' position -- a now-familiar ode to the industry that he personifies -- has a Reaganesque ring: it is morning in high-tech America. "I am proud to be part of an industry that has revolutionized the world in only 25 years," Gates said. "The computer software industry has produced more new products and services at affordable prices, created more economic opportunity and empowered more people than any other industry at any other time in history."
