Re: Scrutiny is Mutiny

["Kendall G. Clark" <kclark@superfly.ntlug.org>]

  On Thu, Dec 18, 1997 at 08:33:36PM -0500, Mitch Stone wrote:
  
  > Microsoft was quoted in yesterday's (Weds 12/18) Wall Street Journal 
  > saying that the economy will be damaged if the shipping date of Windows 
  > 98 is delayed by the court's orders. Naturally, the spin department at 
  > Microsoft doesn't mention the nearly one year delay in delivery caused by 
  > Microsoft's own ineptitude. 
  
  
  Mitch,
  
  There's a sense in which this is true, that it will damage the economy. It's
  the same understanding of 'economy' that people have when they say that the
  economy is fine but \\people\\ are doing worse than ever. Here the economy
  means private wealth, Wall Street, global capital, etc.
  
  The kinds of forces in the economy that will be hurt if W98 is delayed are
  hard drive manufacturers, memory manufacturers, computer manufacturers; all
  the associated computer technologies that rely on MS bloatware to \\force\\
  a new round of computer purchases to support a new round of MS bloated
  software.
  
  The forces in the economy that won't be harmed are people, individuals who
  won't have to upgrade their systems, who want have to shell out more $$ for
  worse quality software, and small businesses for the same reasons.
  
  But who gives a damn about these people anyway? They're unimportant to the
  MS's of the world, until, of course, they refuse to go along with the program.
  
  MS is disgusting. Has everyone heard how they have taken most of their
  non-programming and technical jobs into a temporary, out-sourcing position?
  They've fired workers and then hired them back w/ no benefits, no security,
  etc. They post quarter after quarter of obscene profits, Gates is rich
  beyond human imagining, but they need to cut costs by cutting non-skilled
  labor. They wage a very viscious and mean-spirited kind of class warfare in
  Redmond.
  
  Best,
  
  Kendall Clark
  
  PS--Of course MS isn't the only company that does that, but it's the one on
  our hotseat here.