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To: Jet.Screamer who wrote (25770)	5/7/1998 6:40:00 PM
From: Chris	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 97611

Jon, RE: MSFT vs DOJ I understood the MSFT/DOJ agreement same as you. What I remember was a key issue for the DOJ was that MSFT was selling IE as a separate product and now was claiming it was a integral part of the OS. If it was so integral why were they selling it as a separate product. Thus the two separate boxes/products. The key issue(for me) is if MSFT has control of what they choose to integrate into the OS. If not, then the government is in control of the Win 95/98 OS and not MS. This is outrageous. This is the same government which has the nice folks at the IRS, BATF, FBI walking all over the rights of its citizens. This government wants to limit our right to have private (ie encrypted) voice and electronic communications. Now the same government is trying to tell a company that they can no longer enhance there own product in a way which makes business sense. Where does it stop??? I see the political side of this as drawing a line with microsoft which is not supported the the sherman antitrust act (BTW, I am not a lawyer, so this is just my opinion.), or even by the agreement between MSFT and DOJ. With Win98, they(MS) have purposely made it an integral part of the OS. Just as they have done with many features that we now take for granted. Now suddenly this is a political issue because there are not technical/business reasons that this should not be done. It makes sense both technically and for MS's business. Eventually our computers need to be as simple to operate as our car is to drive. I don't need to be a mechanic to drive. Nor should I be forced to use software from many vendors which will probably not work well together. The integration between the office components is wonderful. I would like to see this trend continue. Netscape will not make this happen, nor Sun, or a host of small niche players. They will continue to do it their way. If Netscape had an OS for PCs, who's browser would it have??? Since they don't have an OS they go to the DOJ and say the MSFT has been unfair. I use both products, and like IE slightly better than Netscape. I was part of the Netscape developers program for awhile, but I was got sick of Netscape's very propritery way of doing business. Their way or the highway. Microsoft has better serves the computer industry by providing much better development support. Support on a level that none of their competitors had done. Why? Because it is great for MS's business to do so. Just ask Apple how much they need there developers. They messed up all on their own. My basic concern is about the government telling a company, any company, what they can or can not do with their product. The market has spoken with windows. It was never the best, but it developed the best industry support which why it was a success. Put the government in this picture and they will stiffle innovation, and they will go out of their way to penalize some companies and unfairly help others. The market speaks with its dollars. I would be running another OS if it did the things I needed. Where is CPM? Exactly were it needs to be... Where is OS "who", I mean OS2? Exactly where IBM put it. Where is Windows, on my desktop because MS and many other vendors support it. I'm not trying to ignore the previous bout between MSFT and DOJ. I strongly feel the DOJ is attempting to overextend their authority in this case. Just as the government tried to force the 'clipper' chip on the market. If the government feels that MSFT eventully needs to be broken up, I would defer to their judgement. When it comes to defining what is allowable product innovation keep those unqualified (#*%&%)#!! people out of the picture. Keep big brother away from my OS and I'll be happier. Give me strong video, voice and data encryption too. We all have a right to privacy, even if we choose not to exercise it. JMO, Chris