Re: Company, government eyeing deal?

[Mitch Stone <mstone@vc.net>]

--- From a message sent by Paul Crowley on 3/9/1999 9:10 PM ---

>Of course if it's only Windows they have to license, watch them
>suddenly discover how much of the Windows behaviour that programs
>depend on they can "de-integrate" in short order.  The solution to
>this that requires least regulatory supervision is to force them to
>license everything, Office and all.  
>
>And if you do that, include this twist: the NDAs must explicitly not
>prohibit publication of information that affects user-visible
>behaviour, such as APIs and file formats.  This would seem more
>effective than obliging Microsoft to publish them and then taking them 
>to court on the grounds that their documentation was inadequate.
>
>Oh, and don't allow them to charge more than 10,000 x the price of the
>software on the shelf.  Oh, and limit the discounts they're allowed to
>give out.  Hmm, this avoiding regulatory supervision stuff really is
>tricky.  Maybe the "baby Bills" are the right way to go after all.

What I've feared all along, and what I've convinced myself is more likely 
now then ever, is an essentially voluntary breakup. I suspect it will be 
very difficult for the DoJ to maintain a firm grip the details in the 
ways they must, and as you suggest. I'd expect all of their carefully 
cultivated political and legal capital to evaporate in a flash. To see 
this happen, all Gates would need to do is announce publicly their 
willingness to break up the company to settle the suit. Then they get to 
do it about 99% their way.

The only real question is: does the Microsoft leadership have the nerve 
to lay that card on the table?

Mitch Stone
mstone@vc.net