Friday, May 19, 2000 — North Shore News - 7 Gov't violating liberties in Microsoft suit IT was the proprictor of this paper who once wrote about “the perva- sive Canadian spirit of envy,” whereby “the success of a person implies the failure or exploitation of someone else.” Vitriol from my anti- Microsoft mailbag bears this out in spades. The individuals in the software industry who cussed at me, nat only played loose with the facts, but were also incapable of grasping that, at its root, the assault on Microsoft is an assault on property. When government tells a company what products it may integrate, and what kind of discounts it may offer, at the threat of divvying up and policing the property should it fail to comply —- government is violating basic liberties. One reader denounced me as a lackey of Bill Gates and worse. Being so patently parti- san himself, another reader was flummoxed to hear x that my . Spouse designs a product which Microsoft ‘wants to ~ unseat. You will be destroyed by «Gates; this biter creature prophesied, which goes to * show that myth and supersti- tion fuel the animus against Bill Gates. The Palm handheld ” computer and its wireless tech- »: Mology for which the spouse is responsible has left Microsoft in the dust. 2: Tke Palm OS has a stag- pering 78.4% of the global - dheld ‘computer market. - Realistically, Palm has only antitrust Ja ‘to fear. Adopting a position of remarkable novel- ty, a reader insisted that the case against Microsoft was not about monopoly. At the heart of the judgment was the morality of Microsoft’s action. George Pajari of Faximum Software knows what is best for consumers, and Netscape, he says, had launched a better product. He claims Microsoft's immorality consisted in devel- oping a competitive product, and using financial cout to give away its product until Netscape allegedly “went out of business.” Indeed, Microsoft gave Internet Access Providers a fice access kit, which they grabbed. Netscape snoozed for nine long months, then awoke with a start to match the Microsoft blitz with a parallel package, Mission Control, that cost a whopping $1,995. Any wonder then that Intemet Access Providers chose Microsoft? Unaware as he is that Netscape was the dominant and established incumbent in the browser market, the reader wants to outlaw such con- sumer-friendly competitive hardball. Furthermore, if using financial clout to gain market advantage is immoral, as the reader , then perhaps only cash-strapped businesses © Easy clean up © Hides surface imperfecuon ¢ Available in custom tints should be Licensed to inte- grate, Or give away products as Microsoft did with its Internet Explorer and Windows operst- ing system. The argument that Microsoft was not within its rights to bundle and market its Internet Explorer with its Windows OS, and, by exten- sion, that government should be in the business of interfer- ing with someone's right to configure and sell a product as . they wish, gives way to a reductio ad absurdum. “It is impossible to pur- chase a Ford chassis and a BMW motor,” writes Christopher Westley, Leon Snyman, Walter Block and Ilana Mercer. “Those who wish to drive such a concoc- tion will be forced to buy one of each of these automobiles and fashion this combination for themselves,” say the authors in a paper entided The Microsoft Corporation in Collision with Antitrust Law. “If we are going to legally penalize Microsoft on this ground, we must also include in the indicument ... all auto- mobile companies, all TV manufacturers (some buyers may wish the Sony innards and the RCA uube, or vice versa), all publishers (some readers may want the cover of the Bible and the inner pages of Dilita, or Playboy, or, who knows, vice versa), etc. “As for accusations from * readers that Microsoft “harmed consumers,” Stan J. Leibowits and Stephen E. Margolis authors of Winners, Losers, and Micronfi: Competition and Antitrust in High Techneiegy, documented a faster decluse in prices wher- TESS Acrytc: StansSc, © Easy clean up © Hides surface imperfection © Available in custom tints For 2 limited time uatly, - @A high-hiding, low lustre finish with lasting durability when you purchase selected Benjamin Moore paint, you'll get 10 t9 50% off the retail price. Every card saves you moncy! So get into your Benjamin Moore Retailer today and pick up your Scratch the Lid for Savings Game Card. It’s the perfect. time to paint. Scratch Today! * A bigh-hiding soft gicss that resists blistering and color retention. and mildew. © Resists blistering © Lasting durabilny and Mare 2." ye PAINTS: ever Microsoft was present in software markets. “Software products which did aot compete with Microsoft fell in price by about 12% from 1988 to 1995, but where there was competition with Microsoft the price reduction was almost 60% dur- ing the same period.” As the one perspicacious reader wrote: were “it not for Bill Gates we'd still be chained to mainframes or playing tic- tac-toe on our Commodores.” ‘This computer scientist, who shall remain anonymous because he has received death threats from “software Bolsheviks,” wrote as follows: “Is it really true Microsoft has no competition? The notion is a ioke. We all know about UNIX. What prevented them, with a massive head-start, from pricing Microsoft out of the business? “The fact is that like Netscape, Digital Research. DEC and Wang, they were asleep at the switch. Any or all of them could easily have wiped the floor with Upstart Microsoft. “Now they imply that the only reason they did not so do was because of some sort of moral superiority. The real problem in each case was greed.” No pronouncement about the anti-trust junta and its hypocrisy, however, would be complete without the words of former Judge Robert Bork. Wrote Bork in his book The Antitrust Paradox. “Modern antitrust has so decayed that the policy is no longer intellec- tually respectable. Some of it is not respectable as law; more of it is not respectable as eco- a leading anti-Microsotft cheer- leader? —gnome@artcanada.net nomics . Did in ‘mention that Bork is a consultant for Netscape and = =a Wes AB senices Onn | Lube & Fitter huily warrenty 21 pt. Safety check. 15 minutes - FAST! J Includes up to 5 lites of 10w30 Quakerstate 1362 Marine Drive 930-9115 Mon-Sat 8:00am-600pm, Sun. 9:00am-5:00pm Expires May 24/2000 oe Instant Campjire! Have a campfire ready when you are, without the hassle. instant on ~ instant off! The New Frontier Campfire is realistic, portable and easy to use. © Perfect for campfire burning bans © Rain and wind resistant © Standard 20 Jb. LP tank will burn this campfire for approx. 20 hrs. A compact disc receiver + from NAD with rich sounding speakers from PSB. NAD is the company famous for simple, intuitive operation and high performance at a reasonable price. The L40 combines a superb CD player, high performance amplifier, and FM tuner in one compact enclosure, saving space and simplifying installation. Unlike many of today’s mini- component systems NAD has not compromised on performance, even when compared to their own renowned separate componénts. : PSB i is one of the great Canadian audio success stories. Designed and built in Ontario but enjoyed and acclaimed world-wide. The amazing PSB Alpha has been called “Quite possibly the greatest loudspeaker bargain . Of the last 25 years.” The updated Alpha”. has a improved woofer and tweaté in a video-shielded, reworked . cabinet design. A Super - Alpha for music and home theatre NAD L40 CD Receiver with PS8 Alpha*’ Loudspeakers. Can sit on a bookshelf while: sounding like a concert hall. Complete Home Entertainment Solutions by. fancou ver - x Kee cugton