Competition by Litigation.

Story: Google calls for more limits on MicrosoftTotal Replies: 3
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Bob_Robertson

Jun 26, 2007
8:53 AM EDT
Sorry, I know it's easy to say "Microsoft is wrong", but the reality of anti-trust laws is that there is nothing more anti-competitive than the laws themselves.

Antitrust for Fun and Profit http://www.mises.org/freemarket_detail.asp?control=70&sortor...

Anti-trust, Anti-truth http://www.mises.org/story/436

If all government granted monopolies were abolished, if the protectionist tarriffs that are designed to prop up some otherwise inefficient industry or another were eliminated, then maybe there might be room for abusing Microsoft.

Now the fact that Microsoft has learned to go to Washington to buy favors, that is very much something that I abhor and would like to see destroyed. But having different companies do exactly the same thing is merely pot-kettle-black.

But then it really doesn't matter. So long as power is centralized in one place, claiming to be able to regulate every aspect of the individuals life, corruption will be drawn in like mass into a gravity well. I'm not surprised, but I would be surprised if anyone _did_ act surprised.

dinotrac

Jun 26, 2007
9:34 AM EDT
Bob -

I'm all mealy-mouthed on this one.

I thought the original federal trial was a tremendous waste of resources and took a lot of heat for saying that.

However, with the case behind us, the money spent, and the findings in hand, enforcing them seems like the right thing to do.
Bob_Robertson

Jun 26, 2007
9:50 AM EDT
Dino, yes, I too was in the hot seat for saying that the litigation was a witch hunt and "extortion for reelection donations".

What I don't see is any reason to rationalize a bad act by pretending its results are somehow good just because they are the results. One of the reasons I am not a "conservative", I don't believe that just because something is the status-quo makes it worth keeping.

Microsoft is abusive, egotistical, monomaniacal, just like its top management. Rather than abusing the freedom of all for the sake of taking down one nasty group (gee, where have I run into that before? DMCA? Patriot Act?) I would much rather see efforts to remove Microsoft from those positions of power which it maintains.

NoDough

Jun 26, 2007
10:58 AM EDT
Quoting:One of the reasons I am not a "conservative", I don't believe that just because something is the status-quo makes it worth keeping.
I feel exactly the same and I call myself a conservative. That's the reason I'm not a Republican.

Quoting:Microsoft is abusive, egotistical, monomaniacal, just like its top management.
Well, that depends on how you qualify "Microsoft". To me, Microsoft is a group of people working for a company. I have no problem with that group of people. The top management, however, seems to fit your description precisely.

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