[Am-info] Thoughts

[Gene Gaines]

,

About a year ago, I took an afternoon and made a formal
request of Microsoft to tell me where I stood with my
ability to resell a copy of Microsoft Windows 98.

I stated that I had found it on the street, that it was
an unopened shrink-wrapped box, and all labels appeared
to be intact.

After a lot of low-level stupidity and blather, I was
referred upstairs to legal, where I received a lot of
medium-level stupidity and blather, then referred to
a another person where I received (in my opinion)
high-level stupidity and blather.

What it came down to was, yes, I "sell" the license
for the copy of Windows 98 which I had "found" but
only if I also had the entire contents of the box.

So, it appeared to come down to this:

 - If the box shrink-wrap had been removed, I could
   still sell it.

 - However, Microsoft would require that the entire
   contents be intact.  I asked about, say, an
   advertising flyer for MSN which happened to be
   stuffed in that box.  Answer was "legally you will
   need to have every flyer, every label, every piece
   of paper" before Microsoft will accept your right
   to sell the license to the product, even though it
   has never been used"

This is all nonsense, of course, but does begin me
thinking about ways to attach through the armor, which
cannot be perfect in all directions.

Following this line of reasoning.

Years ago, I was angry as hell at AT&T and my local
Bell of Pa. telephone company for their refusal to
provide reasonable private line service for a large
national a network I managed.

For several years, we kept shooting verbal, written,
political, legal bullets at each other.

AT&T opened a regional supply center just down the
street from my office. Magnificent. Part of an
integrated supply management system which enabled the
local telco service technician to touch-tone an
order for parts he had used that day, drive his truck
up to the AT&T supply center the next day and be
handed a box/pallet to replenish his truck with the
supplied he had consumed.

Important step forward for AT&T and Bell of Pa.

Trouble is, Congress/FCC enacted new laws and new
regulations, and it became illegal.

So, I just drove my private car into the AT&T
private lot for trucks, backed my car up to a
loading dock, and said I wanted to buy a balun
(inexpensive load balancing coil).

All hell to pay.  Lawyers for multiple cities.
AT&T offered to give me a gross, no charge.
The legal proceeding here dragged on for several
years.  Once I took the 30 minutes to drive my
car up to their loading dock, my only expense
and effort was to keep answering the phone from
time to time and saying "No, I want to buy one."

Helped raise awareness that the basic tying
activity between AT&T and Bell of Pa. was
illegal and a component of an illegal monopoly.

I rush to say that AT&T and I became good friends
after that.  (Bell of Pa. even bought the company
I was working for, several years later, after I
had moved on.)

Is there a parallel here?  I don't know, but
somewhere there is a chink(s) in the Microsoft
armor where a small jab can make a big difference.

Good to think about.

It would be the "right" thing to do.

Gene Gaines
gene.gaines@gainesgroup.com
Sterling, Virginia