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Date:      Fri, 12 Nov 1999 06:24:26 -0800 (PST)
From:      Jamie Bowden <ragnar@sysabend.org>
To:        David Schwartz <davids@webmaster.com>
Cc:        Brett Glass <brett@lariat.org>, angussf@geoapps.com, freebsd-chat@FreeBSD.ORG
Subject:   RE: Judge: "Gates Was Main Culprit"
Message-ID:  <Pine.BSF.4.10.9911120610490.11475-100000@moo.sysabend.org>
In-Reply-To: <000001bf2cd1$0f989c70$021d85d1@youwant.to>

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On Thu, 11 Nov 1999, David Schwartz wrote:

:
:> So?  Most software companies aren't an OS monopoly using that position to
:> force their non OS products down the throats of the world.
:
:	Yes, Microsoft is a monpoly in the Alice-in-Wonderland world where Netscape
:Navigator competes with Windows but Macintoshes don't.

Reread the findings.  Netscape does not compete with Windows, Netscape
attempted to compete with IE, and M$ killed Netscape through the abuse of
it's OS monopoly.  

:> The DoJ isn't
:> using Joe Programmers email against microsoft, they're using Chairman
:> Gates', and his cadre of president's and vice-president's mail against
:> them. If they don't represent the reasons and motives behind M$, who the
:> hell does?
:
:	Really, no one. That's why, in general, the standard for evaluating the
:reasons for a businesses' conduct are essentially that of the 'best possible
:reason'. In other words, to conclude that an action was specifically taken
:solely for an anticompetitive purpose, it generally must be established that
:there's no other legitimate business purpose why the action could have been
:taken.

You're high.  It doesn't matter if there are other accompanying reasons.
Abuse of power is abuse of power.  They crushed Netscape for no other
reason than because Netscape didn't want to play in MS's sandbox.  It's
the same thing they attempted to do to Quicken years ago.  MS has not
changed, and will not change unless forced.  They are getting their just
deserts.  The stuff coming out of the Caldera/DRI suit is just more
showing of how MS either buys it's competition, or leverages it's power to
make them irrelevant.  That is in fact harmful to the indusrty and
consumers.  

:	Even individuals often explain their motivations inaccurately. This is why
:we really don't have any 'pure intent' crimes, except perhaps for attempted
:assassination.

Fortunately, corporates are virtual entities whose mind exists on memos
and peices of e-mail.  There's no ambiguity in one executive telling
another executive that they are going to kill the competition ('We need to
smile when we pull the trigger' in ref. to Novell).  

Judge Jackson has determined that:

1) Microst has an Operating Systems Monopoly in the intel x86 based PC
market.

2) They have used that monopoly to remove competition on the application
level.

3) That's a violation of Sherman.

This ain't rocket science.

Jamie Bowden

-- 

If we've got to fight over grep, sign me up.  But boggle can go.
	-Ted Faber (on Hasbro's request for removal of /usr/games/boggle)



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