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To: Gerald R. Lampton who wrote (21662)	11/23/1998 3:15:00 AM
From: Charles Hughes	Respond to of 24154

>>> I would think that any harm to any competitor hurts competition by definition. No. Think about it this way: >>> Gerry, you need to join us out here in the real world of the software business. I realize that to folks like yourself who work in the halls of government, things like business outcomes probably seem a bit abstract at times. For lawyers too, who see the real world through the lens of lawsuits and rules and fees. Out here in the California computer biz, it looks a little different. Anti-competitive damage, vaporware and technical sabotage are not just parts of a very elaborate rumor or legal position, it is something we do over lunch. Eliminating as many competitors as possible through whatever means legal or illegal, so as to raise profits and minimize R&D investment, is not an accident or a possible side effect or debatable condition, it is a reliable business strategy. Screwing the customer is not a remote potential, it is a business goal. Please don't be obtusely naive. Yes, as MSFT lawyers noted, we all want to do it, or darn close to all. Some of us show some restraint, but only just. Well, hey, that's why we need umpires and traffic cops, yardage penalties and fines. And lawyers. And jails. And when you see one player committing the most egregious foul of the game, you drop the flag. If you want to still have a computer industry, Microsofts current pie needs to be cut in more than one piece. Cheers, Chaz

To: Gerald R. Lampton who wrote (21662)	11/23/1998 4:28:00 AM
From: Charles Hughes	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 24154

I think I have found the locus of the logical problem in your statement: "... competitors have been harmed. Competition has not, because consumers derive..." No, competition has been harmed. This is the case whether the consumer benefits or not. You are confusing temporal outcomes for the consumer with the state of competition between businesses, which are related phenomena but are not at all the same thing. You can definitely lower prices, and benefit the average consumer for a time, while absolutely wiping out all competition. Competition has thus been harmed, if arguably not the outcome for the average consumer. I will leave the case that this is ultimately bad for the consumer for another time. If there is somebody here willing to take up the other side of the argument, which I guess would be the 'planned economy', benificent dictatorship, or marxist point of view. I's so much fun trying to prove that capitalist competition is a good thing to the so-called 'conservatives' here. The worm turns, I guess. Cheers, Chaz