Re: Preferential Access to OS code

["Marvin C. Slayton" <mcs@mail.scsinfo.com>]

  Dear James,
  
  This is the primary reason we're in the pickle we're in!!!!!!! Until
  Microsoft is FORCED to cease this practice, there will be NO END to their
  dominant position.
  ===================================================
  Marvin C. Slayton, mailto:mcs@mail.scsinfo.com
  President
  Structured Computer Systems, Inc., http://www.scsinfo.com
  30 Tower Lane, Avon, CT 06001
  phone: 860.677.0222,  fax: 860.677.7157
  ==================================================
  -----Original Message-----
  From: James Love <love@cptech.org>
  To: Multiple recipients of list <am-info@essential.org>
  Date: Tuesday, November 18, 1997 2:18 PM
  Subject: Preferential Access to OS code
  
  
  >Karl Auerbach's interesting note regarding the problems of competing
  >with Microsoft when Microsoft provides its own programmers preferential
  >access to OS code.    jamie
  >
  >------------------------------------
  >Subject:  Re: DOJ asked to stop MS monopolization of browser market
  >   Date:  Sun, 16 Nov 1997 15:54:07 -0800 (PST)
  >   From:  Karl Auerbach <karl@cavebear.com>
  > Reply-To: cni-copyright@cni.org
  >       To: Multiple recipients of list <cni-copyright@cni.org>
  >
  >Not that this thread has a lot to do with copyright any longer...
  >
  >> Also, there is a very important "developer market" -- that is, getting
  >> developers to develop products based on your product.
  >
  >I develop software at Precept Software.  (In particular I build software
  >to do near broadcast quality audio/video on Win 95 and NT platforms over
  >standard TCP/IP networks, especially those supporting IP multicast.)
  >
  >Anyway, I've been looking at how IE4 claims to fit into Windows 95 and
  >NT....
  >
  >One of the means by which they have been able to combine the file system
  >and the network is by a thing they call "Shell Namespaces".
  >Essentially, when the file system viewer encounters a read-only
  >directory containing a file named "desktop.ini", the viewer, rather than
  >displaying the files, launches a program referenced by a field whithin
  >the "desktop.ini" file.
  >
  >This mechanism was not released until the IE4 software came out.  I'm
  >not sure when the API documentation was released, but it reasonably new.
  >And the documentation is not complete -- Microsoft is clearly and
  >demonstrably using undocumented extensions.
  >
  >Microsoft's developers had perhaps a years prior access to this idea,
  >and also had the opportunity to refine its design and implementation to
  >accomodate the needs of IE4.
  >
  >Outside developers had no such opportunity.
  >
  >Thus, if there were two equally imaginative and creative development
  >teams, one inside Microsoft and one outside, the latter is at a
  >substantial disadvantage.
  >
  >The outsiders don't have the opportunity available to Microsoft insiders
  >to bounce ideas for new functionality off of the core OS group or to
  >obtain knowledge that resides between the lines of the published
  >documentation.
  >
  >And if an outsider gets a good idea and talks it over with a
  >Microsoftie, the outsider is essentially divulging some of its
  >intellectual property advantages to an actual or potential competitor,
  >Microsoft.
  >
  >The whole issue whether IE4 is part of the OS or not is utterly
  >irrelevant.  To use that distinction as the basis for judgement is to
  >concede the outcome to Microsoft.
  >
  >The real issue is whether Microsoft dominant position in OS's (including
  >compilers and development libraries) is giving it an improper advantage
  >in the development or commercialization of new software ideas.
  >
  >>From my point of view as a software developer, it is my opinion that
  >Microsoft's position constitutes a sword of Damocles over every
  >independent developer.  In many senses, if one has a good idea that one
  >hopes to bring to sucessful fruition, it is better to sell out to
  >Microsoft or to become an employee there than to try to do outside the
  >Microsoft.
  >
  >                 --karl--
  >
  >Karl Auerbach
  ><karl@cavebear.com>
  >