[ Thanks to Niki
Scevak for this link. ]
“While the decision to split Microsoft into two separate
companies looks like good news for the computer industry as a
whole, I’m not convinced it is the ideal remedy from an Open Source
point of view. In fact it may make life tougher.“
“From the moment Microsoft trotted out its ridiculous and
shambolic defence in the recent antitrust trial, a company break-up
was always on the cards. The question facing Microsoft’s opponents
wasn’t so much if the company should be sub-divided, but the ideal
number of parts and structural composition of the new
enterprises.”
“Of all the alternative restructures, the US Department of
Justice pushed for one, which at first sight looks like a bad
outcome. Instead of being one huge monopoly, Microsoft is to be
divided into two horizontal slices – the operating system monopoly
remains intact and a new, almost monopoly will be formed to take
care of the office productivity software. In other words, the 500lb
gorilla is being split to make two 500lb gorillas.”