“Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson has given his findings of fact:
98 pages worth in the single-spaced Times New Roman 12 point I
printed it out in. Superficially, it seems comprehensive, and I
have heard people who ought to know better say it is a brilliant
analysis of the computer industry. Far from that, it is both
foolish and a disaster….”
“The worst harm the document can establish is that they believe
Windows 98 ought to cost about $30 less than it does. That may or
may not be true, but to me, it would clearly be a disaster if the
government, through courts, special masters, or a “Software Fair
Practices Board” set software prices for the rest of us. If
Microsoft prices their OS too high, I’ll buy a Mac. Make it high
enough, and Linux will take off like a rocket — not that it’s not
doing that anyway. But don’t let the government set
prices….“
“Gates can hire the legal talent to tie this case in knots and
keep anything from happening for years. By the time it gets to the
Supreme Court, it will be heard by justices not yet appointed who
will be called upon to decide issues so remote to what is then
current in the industry as to take a historian to recall what the
shouting is about. By then, Microsoft may or may not have the
dominant position it has. If it does, it will be because Microsoft
has kept up with the technology, taken account of competition such
as Apple and Linux, and come out with products that consumers
prefer to the competition. It will be because Microsoft is running
scared, as it always has.”