Re: Antrust and lock-in

[James Love <love@cptech.org>]

Etchison, Michael wrote:
> the customer_.  To deprive customers of this benefit in order to strip
> BillG of some of his billions is to use a broadax on one's foot.

   In a few notes Michael seems to suggest that some person's policy
objective is to lower Bill Gate's wealth.  While that may be a
by-product of policies which reduce Microsoft's monopoly power, it isn't
the central or core objective.  If Microsoft's monopoly power flows from
network effects, and network effects have important benefits for
consumers, then one might consider policies which make a monopoly OS a
more open platform, like the EC did with IBM in 1984.  I don't see how
this would be akin to using a "broadax on one's foot."

    jamie


-- 
James Love
Consumer Project on Technology
P.O. Box 19367, Washington, DC 20036
love@cptech.org | http://www.cptech.org
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