Re: Intuit/Quicken Force Users to Internet & MS Internet Explorer

["Lewis A. Mettler" <lmettler@lamlaw.com>]

I have argued for some time now that Y2K strengthens the Microsoft
Monopoly and the forced use of IE.  The Y2K problem (both fact and
fiction) will require a rapid upgrade to the latest versions from
Microsoft which are of course bundled with IE.

The most interesting about this note however is the tie-in from Intuit. 
Clearly Intuit is on the bubble for being rubbed out by illegal trading
practices of Microsoft.  Money 98/99 bundled with the OS and Intuit is
all but history.  I guess the only way that Intuit can keep Money out of
the OS is to themselves make certain they force all of their customers
to purchase, install, maintain and use IE.  It is just another example
of a tied product.  This example is even across manufacturers.  I do not
think that Intuit has a choice here.

Of course any requirement that Intuit customers must use IE is total
garbage.  Oh.  They may have to use it alright.  Intuit could write
their software so that it will not function unless all consumers buy a
copy of the Flight Simulator.  That is easy to set up.  And, as the
previous note points out, that harms consumers.  The requirement that
the internet be used is also suspicious.  Using the internet should only
be an option not a requirement.  I suspect Microsoft has something to do
with that requirement.  Microsoft does not like being the bully that
requires non-internet users to buy IE.  They do it.  But, I am sure they
have a few complaints.

A lot of ISVs are focusing on IE dependency simply because they know
Microsoft has forced all consumers to buy it.  Microsoft wants to create
that pre-requisite simply so they have domination over that market as
well.

Hopefully, the current antitrust litigation will prevent that.

It is absolutely essential that not only Netscape but all other software
developers have a fair market into which to introduce internet
technologies.  The worse thing that can happen is for Microsoft to block
out competition on the internet as they have in the consumer OS market.

Audrie Krause wrote:
> 
> This may be of interest to this list:
> 
> PRIVACY Forum Digest      Saturday, 19 Jun 1999      Volume 08 : Issue 09
> 
> Moderated by Lauren Weinstein (lauren@vortex.com)
> Vortex Technology, Woodland Hills, CA, U.S.A.   http://www.vortex.com
> 
> Date:    Sat, 19 Jun 99 09:46 PDT
> >From:    lauren@vortex.com (Lauren Weinstein; PRIVACY Forum Moderator)
> Subject: Intuit/Quicken Force Users to Internet & MS Internet Explorer
> 
> Greetings.  Just as the banking industry in the U.S. has been issuing
> concerns about the security of Internet and Web-based banking systems, one...

<clipped, please see original notice if you are a Quicken user>

-- 
Lewis A. Mettler, Esq.(Attorney and Software Developer)
lmettler@LAMLaw.com
http://www.lamlaw.com/ (web site reviews Microsoft antitrust transcripts
daily)