Salon | Letters to the editor

_______________ THE BROWSER WAR GOES THERMONUCLEAR BY SCOTT ROSENBERG (05/19/98)

While I liked Scott Rosenberg's example of Microsoft as seller of Coke instead of Coke itself, it still seems a little flawed. Even though Microsoft may be the only "store" for most computer OS software shoppers, a better example may be more like a Ford or GM dealer. (I make this comparison completely aware of Gates' Microsoft pep rally speech where he nearly declared a new version of the famous misquote: "What's good for General Motors is good for America.")
While you can choose to purchase a Ford, for example, after you get it home you can modify it in whatever ways you choose to. The Windows OS forces no one to actually use Internet Explorer (or Expedia or Carpoint for that matter) and the majority chooses not to the last time I checked. Aside from the 12 million or so lemmings on AOL, people will choose the better product as long as alternatives exist or, as in my case, when they simply don't wish to give in to Microsoft on everything.
Does Microsoft have antitrust problems? Absolutely. But should the government get involved with the Windows 98 issue as suggested by news reports from the past week? I'm reminded of another famous saying: "We're from the government and we're here to help." And we know how that turns out most of the time.
-- Greg Tucker
Harrisburg, Pa.
Thank you for providing the proper analogy to dispel the "three cans of Pepsi in every 6-pack of Coke" nonsense that Bill Gates is currently peddling.
Last night I couldn't sleep, so I turned on Charlie Rose at 1 in the morning, and there it was: the Connecticut attorney general, some big shot from Time magazine and a Microsoft PR ("vice president" of something) guy. I must say that the Microsoft PR guy was smooth and composed, and in all relevant television points (conciseness of message, speaking in complete sentences, etc.), he kicked the attorney general's butt. However, he was also unfailingly arrogant; he -- and other Microsoft defenders, too -- love to say that these "lawyers" don't understand "computers" and "innovation." Hogwash. While I don't pretend to understand computer languages and how these things are put together, it is pretty obvious to me that, regardless of ill or good intentions, Bill Gates and his company will not rest until they have leveraged themselves into every area in which a computer is vaguely involved. That isn't innovation; it's domination.
-- Fritz Strohmeyer
I am tired of Microsoft's unethical behavior. It is imperative that the DOJ put the brakes on Bill Gates' plans. Or else, how long until he controls the entire industry? If Microsoft's competition is totally crushed, what will Microsoft charge for its software? I do not believe that Gates has the consumer's best interest in mind. Do you?
Regarding his Coca-Cola analogy, I think a better one is that he would put a large button prominently on the front of the dispensing machine for Coke and say that you are free to select Pepsi if you wish -- of course, you have to pull the machine away from the wall to reach the Pepsi button on the rear, keeping the button pressed while you enter your money.
-- Richard Moore
When speaking of Microsoft, the press refer to their "ability to innovate" like it is a God-given truth. To my knowledge, Microsoft has innovated very little in the way of technology, but rather have focused their innovative powers on marketing.
As someone once said it, "If it were up to Microsoft, we would all be sitting in front of an amberchrome monitor typing BASIC commands at the C prompt and printing it out on a daisy wheel printer."
-- Dan Donovan
Just wanted to quickly comment on a well-written article on the issues surrounding the Microsoft debate. I also wanted to comment on the overall quality and professionalism of general Salon coverage of all news events. I've been meaning to write to applaud Salon's excellence as an Internet-based news source, but have not done so until now. As a young adult just recently joining the corporate world in information systems, it is nice to find a responsible online newsmagazine that can cover a wide variety of issues with such style and depth.
-- Stephen Ko

_______________ MR. GATES, MEET MR. ANTITRUST BY JANELLE BROWN (05/19/98)

The thing I find really striking in many discussions of the Microsoft case is the presumption that any restraint placed on Microsoft will put an end to software innovation.
The issue is not, "Will there be innovation?" Clearly there will be. The issue is, "Will anybody other than Microsoft be able to innovate, or will they be stifled?"
As a software developer, I would like the right to continue innovating without the blessing or permission of whoever dominates the market.
-- Mike Brodhead
N E X T+P A G E+| MORE ON ELLEN ULLMAN'S "THE DUMBING DOWN OF PROGRAMMING"

_______________ THE BROWSER WAR GOES THERMONUCLEAR BY SCOTT ROSENBERG (05/19/98)
	While I liked Scott Rosenberg's example of Microsoft as seller of Coke instead of Coke itself, it still seems a little flawed. Even though Microsoft may be the only "store" for most computer OS software shoppers, a better example may be more like a Ford or GM dealer. (I make this comparison completely aware of Gates' Microsoft pep rally speech where he nearly declared a new version of the famous misquote: "What's good for General Motors is good for America.") While you can choose to purchase a Ford, for example, after you get it home you can modify it in whatever ways you choose to. The Windows OS forces no one to actually use Internet Explorer (or Expedia or Carpoint for that matter) and the majority chooses not to the last time I checked. Aside from the 12 million or so lemmings on AOL, people will choose the better product as long as alternatives exist or, as in my case, when they simply don't wish to give in to Microsoft on everything. Does Microsoft have antitrust problems? Absolutely. But should the government get involved with the Windows 98 issue as suggested by news reports from the past week? I'm reminded of another famous saying: "We're from the government and we're here to help." And we know how that turns out most of the time. -- Greg Tucker Harrisburg, Pa. Thank you for providing the proper analogy to dispel the "three cans of Pepsi in every 6-pack of Coke" nonsense that Bill Gates is currently peddling. Last night I couldn't sleep, so I turned on Charlie Rose at 1 in the morning, and there it was: the Connecticut attorney general, some big shot from Time magazine and a Microsoft PR ("vice president" of something) guy. I must say that the Microsoft PR guy was smooth and composed, and in all relevant television points (conciseness of message, speaking in complete sentences, etc.), he kicked the attorney general's butt. However, he was also unfailingly arrogant; he -- and other Microsoft defenders, too -- love to say that these "lawyers" don't understand "computers" and "innovation." Hogwash. While I don't pretend to understand computer languages and how these things are put together, it is pretty obvious to me that, regardless of ill or good intentions, Bill Gates and his company will not rest until they have leveraged themselves into every area in which a computer is vaguely involved. That isn't innovation; it's domination. -- Fritz Strohmeyer I am tired of Microsoft's unethical behavior. It is imperative that the DOJ put the brakes on Bill Gates' plans. Or else, how long until he controls the entire industry? If Microsoft's competition is totally crushed, what will Microsoft charge for its software? I do not believe that Gates has the consumer's best interest in mind. Do you? Regarding his Coca-Cola analogy, I think a better one is that he would put a large button prominently on the front of the dispensing machine for Coke and say that you are free to select Pepsi if you wish -- of course, you have to pull the machine away from the wall to reach the Pepsi button on the rear, keeping the button pressed while you enter your money. -- Richard Moore When speaking of Microsoft, the press refer to their "ability to innovate" like it is a God-given truth. To my knowledge, Microsoft has innovated very little in the way of technology, but rather have focused their innovative powers on marketing. As someone once said it, "If it were up to Microsoft, we would all be sitting in front of an amberchrome monitor typing BASIC commands at the C prompt and printing it out on a daisy wheel printer." -- Dan Donovan Just wanted to quickly comment on a well-written article on the issues surrounding the Microsoft debate. I also wanted to comment on the overall quality and professionalism of general Salon coverage of all news events. I've been meaning to write to applaud Salon's excellence as an Internet-based news source, but have not done so until now. As a young adult just recently joining the corporate world in information systems, it is nice to find a responsible online newsmagazine that can cover a wide variety of issues with such style and depth. -- Stephen Ko
_______________ MR. GATES, MEET MR. ANTITRUST BY JANELLE BROWN (05/19/98)
	The thing I find really striking in many discussions of the Microsoft case is the presumption that any restraint placed on Microsoft will put an end to software innovation. The issue is not, "Will there be innovation?" Clearly there will be. The issue is, "Will anybody other than Microsoft be able to innovate, or will they be stifled?" As a software developer, I would like the right to continue innovating without the blessing or permission of whoever dominates the market. -- Mike Brodhead N E X T+P A G E+\| MORE ON ELLEN ULLMAN'S "THE DUMBING DOWN OF PROGRAMMING"