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As shocking as this [IE requirement] is, the most unsettling revelation is the news that Microsoft required its {OEM } "partners" to report any planned contact with government officials. If that's not illegal, it should be. It implies a threat of reprisal if OEMs so much as inquire about their rights.
like I have said again and again: Gate$ has the basic TS trait of "the rules dont apply to me" in spades. lawyers will add their wildest dreams to contracts; Gate$ carried the responsibility to exercise common sense --he did not. his overwhelming drive: "veni, vidi, vici" is all consuming. his temper tantrums are legendary: classic TS. yes, the restriction on planned contacts with the government is illegal: it constitutes "obstruction of justice" -in fact, I would say it is probably the most prima facie case of it I have ever seen. it is a slap in the face to our basic concept of fairness and the rule of law. I vote that the DOJ initiate the criminal phase of the Sherman and Clayton acts. I have always accused Gate$ of having lower morals, and dirtier hands, than Cornelius Vanderbilt or Jay Gould. the argument that dismembering M$ will throw the computer industry into total disarray is bullshit. No, it will permit other operating systems and software to enter the market. the divested software components can be distributed in much the same way the seven Baby Bells were value and AT&T stock was split with each AT&T share being worth so many of each component and the shareholders could pick. Meanwhile, with Gate$, "to heck with Janet Reno" Ballmer, and their lawyers in federal prison where they are prohibited from running a business, the software industry might return to some well needed diversity since Gate$ will not be able to swing his mighty hatchet. -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: 2.6.3i Charset: latin1 Comment: No safety this side of the grave. Never was; never will be iQBVAwUBNFFmzrR8UA6T6u61AQFSxQIAiVGb4cdMplUNZdlDw15jNl8bZdX5Lzz+ 9teI7hbjJbe8WSZqm85EAH0Q9TfWL3k1b5VS4FAAVHtzaRrFzJlrQQ== =X4G/ -----END PGP SIGNATURE-----