Word: microsoft
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Misunderstanding Microsoft...
...wonder whether the writer of "In Defense of the Microsoft Monopoly" can see how his arguments apply to the Microsoft situation (Opinion, Nov. 17). First, his claim that the Sherman Anti-Trust Act targets monopolies which rely on market power rather than market merit is amusing. I would like to ask: Does Microsoft truly possess a monopoly because its products are far and away the top in their field, or is it instead because of the chance licensing of the DOS operating system by IBM for the PC, which led to a massive install base for Windows...
...writer makes reference to what he believes to be threats to Microsoft's power, including the Java programming language. In fact, Microsoft has worked against the Java initiative by producing their own "version" of Java which, while not fully compliant with the Sun standards, is needed to take full advantage of the Windows functions 85 percent of the world's PC users are targeted for. In addition, the condescending treatment of Microsoft's competitors, often beaten not through superior product but by exclusionary licensing techniques, reveals a lack of knowledge of how the workings of the computer industry functions...
...world with single alternatives, choice dies, and choice is the only weapon the consumer has. Once that is gone, we are simply spoon-fed whatever Microsoft chooses to give us. This state already exists to some extent; why else would we accept an operating system that crashes every 10 minutes...
...Comdex has a few redeeming qualities, like getting to hear Bill Gates wax eloquent about programming on a Tandy personal computer over 20 years ago. When Microsoft struck a deal with the Tandy-owned Radio Shack chain, he was surprised to find some of the same people he'd dealt with back in the day. "Once you get to Tandy, you never leave," he observed to a gaggle of journos at a post-keynote shindig. Oh, but that was off the record, so you didn't hear it from me. MORE...