-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- on or about 980203:1222, in <v03102802b0fd25414459@[207.167.93.63]>, Tim May <tcmay@got.net> was purported to have expostulated to perpetuate an opinion:
As for Attila's calls to break up MS...could make Bill Gates immensely wealthier, as he'd then have a piece of the 5 most successful software companies!
after they extract the usual treble damages in antitrust litigation, Bill will probably retain significant assets, but he probably would not top the list of the very wealthy, and might not even make it.
(I assume Attila is not arguing for simply seizing his property and giving it to others, or running it as a government company, or just padlocking the doors....)
no, in fact, if there were a free market remedy for M$' monopoly, I would be in favour of it --and there is _no_ free market remedy and failure to act promptly conceivably wipe out all, or virtually all, of the viable competitors. the purpose of antitrust legislation is solely to remedy an injustice caused by a private market segment which became a monopoly. divestiture for M$ would generally be along the lines of AT&T except it would focus on divisions rather than regions; secondly, it would obviously restrict Gate$ involvement in more than one despite any stock ownership and might require Bill: a) to sell all stock in units he does not control; b) take his payout in stock from one unit only (less negative market); or, c) he may not have enough left after Sherman Act penalties to be a major stockholder --he might actually need to suffer through stockholders meetings like the rest of the CEOs. I would never advocate seizing assets for redistribution vis a vis Mugabe or whatever the despot's name is --what a waste-- if uncle Sam redistributed we would have Microsoft-Harlem, Microsoft-Watts, etc. shit, I had to stop typing after the mirth of that thought! as for the government running _anything_ --how far do we need to look for the nearest government excess and total mismanagement, featherbedding, and corruption? not far (you, Tim, on a non-clear day cant see very much from your hilltop --out here on the high desert ridges in So. Utah it is CAVU the vast majority of the time-- and I still cant see any as Feds are like Revenuers in KY). there are multiple issues: 1. Microsoft's almost good enough (for the market) operating systems which probably should be considered what we called firmware 25 years ago. at this point >90% of the platforms run M$ in one form or another and as you acknowledge, SGI, DEC, and so on are all hedging their bets --which will become reality as soon as they open the floodgates. in software, the sheeple follow the Judas goat to Redmond. 2. Microsoft "software" a) office suite --already 95% of desktop market b) data base --maybe should be included in a) but Oracle, Sybase, IBM, etc have large installed bases at a much higher cost per unit on servers c) browser --certainly will be at 80% before year end as all OEMs so far have indicated they will not cross M$ and switch. that leaves the rest of it up to the ISPs who could care less. d) back office --M$ moving in on this one real fast and it is now part of NT distribution-- which then requires the browser and webserver for installation and maintenance. e) web servers, firewalls, routers, etc. --M$ is already getting the web servers with NT distributions and is poised to tackle firewalls and router dominance. I question that they can ever configure NT on any hardware to do routing/switching effectively, efficiently, or competitively against dedicated hardware given the new >1G switches. 3. M$ in cable systems. cable systems are always cash poor from infrastructure expense. M$ is buying in and therefore influencing the choice of settops --and their format-- witness TCI. this further establishes M$ in the determination of standards --obviously to the detriment of everyone else-- and the FCC has mandated the boxes must be compatible across the board in a couple years and we all know who negotiates dirty and hard the only saviour in this one may be Time-Warner which so far is moving ahead with its 2way cable system from Scientific Atlanta with a sparc chip, etc. T-W has 2.5 million boxes on order and is planning extensive deployment 3rd quarter which is at least 12 months before M$ can even beta test with TCI 4. content... a) msn which so far is harmless, but what would happen if Gate$ absorbed Assholes on Line? or really pushed MSN at POS and OEM. b) msnbc which apparently still enjoys editorial censorship only from the usual channels of our non-free press. c) reference bookshelf in which the latest revision of the EnCarta encyclopediae described Gate$ as a "philanthropist" --cheap son of bitch only coughed $100 million towards school internet as long as it was M$ product. he may have been better termed a misogynist (before he was married) given his terms of usage.... content is where we really start to worry more than Bill's money, which has already bought influence: the WSJ editorial page article by Bill striking back at the DOJ, the NYTimes column, the books, and the rest of the demigod worshipping media. Gate$' fortunes have been changing: Gate$ now has for more enemies than his money can buy friends. even the SPA has turned against him with their white paper on fair competition which is a direct shot across Gate$' bow --and Gate$' response was that their membership in SPA might not be renewed in August --economic threat. The DOJ has expanded their scope and will probably file significant actions shortly (hopefully before the 21 Apr appeals court hearing) next are the states, eleven so far including NY, TX, IL and CA where they have very definitely aggressive AGs. and CA's is pissed over the sweetheart deal the CSU system gave M$ to supply everything as the "official vendor" of the CSU system which has 20+ campi and how many million students? complain about a McDonalds' generation? shit, that's only your stomach, not your mind --and at least there are other choices for food --I personally have never eaten at McDonalds; of course, that does not say much as I have never owned a television, either. we already have an M$ generation. they all learned on PCs and they all programmed to PCs and windows with their private APIs. this is exactly what creating a positive feedback, self-enhancing market place does: McDonalds grabbed their stomachs with their playgrounds, etc. and M$ twists their minds. BOTTOM LINE: Gate$ manipulation, scheming, red-dog contracts, etc. make Cornelius Vanderbilt look like a choir boy. Gate$ style of management with Steve Ballmer as the heavy and Gate$ trying to cover his geekness as the "aw shucks" boy next door has had the curtain pulled to show what technically amounts to a legal "conspiracy" to dominate multiple markets, both vertically and horizontally. as such, M$ and their executives actions fall directly under the guidelines of part B of the Sherman Antitrust act which includes the usual penalties of divestiture, treble damages, and _criminal_ penalties. secondly, M$ and Gate$, if convicted of violating part 2, could then be construed as a "corrupt" meaning malicious intent the difference between misfeasance and malfeasance is that in the latter you were intentionally fucked which qualifies for RICO prosecution as well. in addition to the extremely severe criminal penalties, RICO does provide for confiscation of ill gotten assets --this would apply to Gate$ monetary gains, including his stock, which could be forfeited. frankly, I think it would be most amusing to see Gate$ and Ballmer receiving the customary "3 hots and a cot" for such offenders and to need to work for a living like the rest of us when they earn their freedom. the fact that RICO could apply does not mean that it will be trundled out --but it would be fitting justice. I will never denigrate Gate$ determination to build M$ and to proliferate the computer, which he did, a little too well. --but Gate$ crossed the line: Gate$' instinct set him on the path that competition means forcing everyone and their ideas (those that he did not steal, literally or figuratively) from the marketplace --Bill can not compete; he must "own" the market. William Henry Gates III expects to be crowned "William III" --see my rant on 16 Oct. on DejaVu or: http://www.primenet.com/~attila/rants/gates/7a16-ms_monopoly.html not to be crass about it, but Gate$ has served his purpose and outlived his usefulness --his defense against the DOJ, his further market actions while under attack, and his intent to trump the moot with Win98 are actions of a petty dictator; give Bill a shiny new uniform from a Napoleanic banana republic and let him prance around. any more of Gate$ not only becomes tiresome, but hazardous to our health. give me the hook... there is no free market remedy for M$' control of the market place as the consumer will not boycott something which a) costs them money do so; and, b) for which there is no ready substitute. the only alternative is to apply the anti-trust laws in the general interests of society which does not mean government ownership or management. M$ stockholders may either make or lose money depending on the valuations the market assigns to each of the divested divisions --but that is a risk you take in the market if your greed exceeds your wisdom. ask any VC, whose greed is only exceeded by his fear. -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: 2.6.3i Charset: latin1 Comment: No safety this side of the grave. Never was; never will be iQBVAwUBNNjTgbR8UA6T6u61AQE9SAH/ZE9BRgenWbxD1mFsqj6qgHJ3hzKXbT6l wpDQd5U3sFje7QEMLVS7KzTRXLchMF+JYcHeuiB3hV3dmCCG7n8yRA== =JspT -----END PGP SIGNATURE-----