SF Chronicle: Microsoft Ruling Serves Rivals, Not Consumers

[ Thanks to Robert
Weiler for this link. ]

“NO GOOD DEED goes unpunished,” the old saying goes, and Judge
Thomas Penfield Jackson and the Justice Department seem bent on
proving its truth in their crusade against Microsoft….”

“Clearly, Microsoft’s success has benefited not just its
employees and stockholders, but society as a whole. So, naturally
the federal government responds by trying to break it up….”

“Those in government are accustomed to a static existence.
The rapidity with which the dominant standard can become
obsolete in the tech economy is a totally foreign concept to the
bureaucratic mind. Hence, the shift to server-based operating
systems — where Microsoft competitors such as Linux enjoy terrific
competitive opportunities — doesn’t make a dent in the thinking of
Judge Penfield and the Justice Department. Klein has been
quoted saying that he believes in “surgical intervention” by the
government in the free market. As he goes about slicing up the body
economic, Klein would do well to recall Hippocrates’ words —
“First, do no harm.” Otherwise, in curing the “disease” Klein’s and
Judge Jackson’s legal surgery may end up killing his purported
patient, the consumer.”

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