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To: Gerald R. Lampton who wrote (19133)	5/16/1998 4:26:00 PM
From: Gerald R. Lampton	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 24154

Apparently, the talks between Microsoft and DOJ have collapsed: biz.yahoo.com The source close to the states said the talks ended when Microsoft withdrew a major concession it had offered on Thursday to allow computer makers to modify the startup screen consumers see when they switch on their computer for the first time. ''They (Microsoft) walked away from the discussion,'' the source said. Is there any way to confirm this?

To: Gerald R. Lampton who wrote (19133)	5/16/1998 7:36:00 PM
From: Thure Meyer	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 24154

"What might network externalities theory say about such an environment? " Since the Internet has no alternative competitor it would seem reasonable to expect that once a particular process or standard gained critical mass it could not be displaced. This is what the open source movement (which I support) is going for. Thure

To: Gerald R. Lampton who wrote (19133)	5/17/1998 1:10:00 AM
From: Charles Hughes	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 24154

>>>The Internet is the Big Kahuna of networks. What might network externalities theory say about such an environment?<<< The Internet was created by the same folks that are in the open source movement, to a great extent. They are part and parcel. That's what SGML is all about, and open standards for TCP/IP, and much else including the new public domain graphics standards. In fact without this culture the Internet as it is could never have been created. Whatever externalities theory might say. Some good things just require a lot of people and interacting ideas to keep rolling, because they are too big for any one coherent theory to control. They are too complex to manage without both cooperation and competition of ideas in the mix in a fertile ground of open standards and equal access. Now Microsoft and others threaten it with proprietary standards like Active-X. Microsoft is not the only one. Half a dozen sites still vie to be the gatekeepers for what you can find. Others have their schemes to turn this into another zero-sum-minus game. Currently they are being beaten back, and the open source and standards movement and the battle against Microsoft are all parts of the fight to preserve a free and both socially and economically valuable Internet. Chaz