Microsoft and DoJ: which one has guns?

[Declan McCullagh <declan@vorlon.mit.edu>]

A long-sounded theme at least on cpunks...


---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Wed, 21 Jan 1998 12:51:19 -0800 (PST)
From: Declan McCullagh <declan@well.com>
To: politech@vorlon.mit.edu
Subject: FC: More on Don Boudreaux "Calm Down" letter on Microsoft

My article on the politics of antitrust:

 http://cgi.pathfinder.com/netly/opinion/0,1042,1678,00.html

-Declan

********

Date: Wed, 21 Jan 1998 14:35:48 -0500
From: James Love <love@cptech.org>
To: declan@well.com
Subject: Re: FC: "Calm down!" -- Don Boudreaux letter to NYT on Microsoft

Calm down Don Bx, 

    If Microsoft really has great software, it doesn't need to use these
heavy handed tactics.  jl
-- 
James Love
Consumer Project on Technology
P.O. Box 19367, Washington, DC 20036
love@cptech.org | http://www.cptech.org
202.387.8030, fax 202.234.5176

**********

Date: Wed, 21 Jan 1998 15:09:14 -0500
From: Don Bx <dboudreaux@fee.org>
To: Declan McCullagh <declan@well.com>
Subject: Re: FC: "Calm down!" -- Don Boudreaux letter to NYT on Microsoft (fwd)

Sincere thanks to all who wrote in response to my letter to the NY Times.

One point: Vigorous competition and clever marketing are NOT
anticompetitive.  Yes, Microsoft owes much of its success to hard
bargaining; yes, Microsoft is a wiz at marketing; and yes, Microsoft's
products are not as good (in an engineering or technical sense) as are some
products produced by rivals.

But antitrust law is meant neither to outlaw hard bargaining and marketing,
nor to ensure that only the technologically best products survive on the
market.  Too many computer experts wrongfully infer from the fact that MS's
products aren't the best available to the conclusion that, therefore, MS's
success is illegitimate.
Such a conclusion would be like saying that General Motors's success is
illegitimate in light of the fact that Lexus and Porshe make better
automobiles.

Bill Gates may be an ass; I don't know and I don't care.  I never met the
man.  But I do know that antitrust law has done great damage to this
nation's economy during the past 100+ years.  The DOJ has guns; Bill Gates
doesn't.  When DOJ enters the picture, it literally threatens to shoot
consumers and businesses who refuse to do as it says; Bill Gates makes no
such threats.  For that reason alone I'm all for keeping Bill Gates free of
government interference.

Don Boudreaux




--------------------------------------------------------------------------
POLITECH -- the moderated mailing list of politics and technology
To subscribe: send a message to majordomo@vorlon.mit.edu with this text:
subscribe politech
More information is at http://www.well.com/~declan/politech/
--------------------------------------------------------------------------