my opinion is that...
Bill Gates is just a businessman who happens to thrive in an industry that breeds whiners, malcontents, and zealots- at a higher rate than other industries.
Gates has done nothing more evil than Ray Kroc (MacDonald's), Sam Walton (Wal-Mart), or any of a dozen other tycoons from times past, present, and (no doubt) future. Does MacDonald's Corporation really put independent restaurants out of business, or does it merely hasten the demise of poorly conceived and incompetently managed local operators? If people are inclined to eat 120 pounds of ground up cow and 47 pounds of lard-fries per annum, who is really to blame? Do we need to legislate or litigate? I could argue that the world would be better off without Big Macs than without Bill Gates, but I just don't like it when we start legislating to protect people from themselves. Hell.. I really would wear a seatbelt even if the great state of Ohio didn't make it illegal to not do so.
ponder this...
Who are all these idiots who continue to buy Windows-based PCs? Why are they doing it? I know! It's because of MS Office. But you can get Office for the Mac. Why aren't more people buying Macs? I don't know. Do you?
But, but... Microsoft took over the Office market. They squashed poor WordPerfect and SmartSuite. Did they? I can remember when both AmiPro and WordPerfect were considered better word processors than Word. I can remember when Lotus 123 was the best spreadsheet application. Can you? Are they still good programs? I don't think so. Are they still for sale? Yes. Do Lotus and Corel tout the fact that their applications are Office-compatible? Yes. So what the hell is stopping people from buying them?
Why does IBM (who owns Lotus) bundle Microsoft Office instead of SmartSuite with most of its computers? Could it be that it came to the conclusion that its computers would be perceived as more valuable with Office than with SmartSuite? Idiots! We should litigate at once and sue IBM for gross stupidity and incompetence, and possibly even incontinence.
linux is cool...
Not only is Linux cool... it's got a version of Corel WordPerfect Office, as well as a few Open Source browsers. So I'm sure more people will be going with Linux any day now. But if they don't, we can always litigate.
pop quiz...
What Word Processor was used by the Justice Department to document its case against Microsoft? [answer: Microsoft Word].
we can beat this...
We really can. All we need to do is litigate better. We need to break up Microsoft or, better yet, wipe it off the face of the planet. Then all our problems will be solved. I promise. And lots of people will buy WordPerfect and SmartSuite.
then we'll get what we deserve...
Like new and more challenging court cases. For example...
Apple sues Sunbeam over the rights to make translucent toasters.
The Justice Department, motivated by a new and powerful lobby of independent ISPs and cable providers, moves to break up AOL-Time Warner... and succeeds.
Netscape is purchased by Procter and Gamble and assigned to the Tampax Division until it stabilizes. Tampax CEO, William Gates turns the Netscape brand around and takes control via a leveraged buyout.
RedHat Linux acquires Tampax and CocaCola, clearing the way for an Open source revolution in the Feminine Hygiene and Soft Drink fields.
The Web Standards Project is recast to promote the adoption of international tampon standards.
The new Netscape Corporation launches its first Operating System, called: Doors... and immediately signs bundling deals with IBM, Compaq, and Norelco-Dell.
And so it goes.
