SF Gate: Fixing Microsoft – A three-step plan to make Bill Gates play fair

[ Thanks to George
Mitchell for this link. ]

“… the only predictable outcome of a Microsoft breakup
would be the creation of a new set of even more intractable
problems for both computer users and the software
industry.”

“There is, however, a much simpler three-step reform that would
much more reliably bring Microsoft back into full compliance with
the law.”

“First, Microsoft should be required to fully disclose all
details about the application programming interfaces (APIs) for
each new version of its operating system (OS).”

“Second, Microsoft should not be allowed to sell or give away
any new application software that uses any new or revised APIs
until at least six months after those APIs have been publicly
disclosed.”

“Third, the judge hearing the case, or some other competent
judicial panel, should be empowered to legally restrain Microsoft
from selling applications in any given vertical market for five
years whenever a competitor in that market demonstrates that
Microsoft’s competing applications take advantage of API
specifications that were not fully disclosed.”

“Microsoft officials have been… vociferously protesting a
breakup of their company recently. My guess is that, in reality, it
has become exactly what they would like to see happen.”

“By changing APIs regularly, a process some programmers call
“gratuitous complexity,” Microsoft has been able to make competing
software applications obsolete at will.”

Complete story.