IP: Dan Gilmor says "Government should block XP release" and I disagree

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

It is not often I disagree with Dan Gilmor on anything but this time I will.

I have been using the XP Professional beta for a while now and have found 
it remarkably stabile for a beta and with attention paid to some important 
areas. It does add versions of Media Player and picture aps that are 
preloaded with it. None of them seem to preempt me from loading 
alternatives and in fact all the non MS stuff I have still works fine. 
(side issue I can access Kodak photo processing using the XP tools - not 
what Kodak seems to say in the press).

In the NY Times, Lohr reported I said:

" "I think Microsoft could easily undo that if they had a mind to," said 
David Farber, a computer scientist at the University of Pennsylvania, who 
testified as an expert witness for the government in the Microsoft case.

Indeed, Mr. Farber said Microsoft's current strategy of increasingly 
delivering Internet services over the Web would work best with software 
designed as "well-defined modules" instead of the "spaghetti code" of 
deeply integrated software, bundling all kinds of features into one."

and I stand by this but I am opposed to seeing anyone forced to be subject 
to  "prior constraint" on the release of a product while a court and 
litigants attempt to re-design software by court hearings and legal briefs 
endlessly blocking what is bad and good and surely that will be the result 
of any attempt to block Windows XP release.

If MS violates the law by releasing Windows XP then let nations, states and 
parties sue MS and collect large damages (note I said IF).

Dan, sounds like a opportunity for a good rousing debate.


Dave

> From: "Gillmor, Dan" <DGillmor () sjmercury com>
> To: "'farber () cis upenn edu'" <farber () cis upenn edu>
>
> http://www.siliconvalley.com/docs/opinion/dgillmor/dg080301.htm
>
> Government should block XP release
>
> Now that a federal appeals court has reaffirmed its unanimous decision that
> Microsoft abused its monopoly and stifled innovation -- and now that it's
> clear that Microsoft has no intention of modifying its behavior -- it's time
> for a difficult but necessary step.
>
> The Justice Department and states must quickly seek an injunction blocking
> the upcoming release of Microsoft's new Windows XP operating system, at
> least as it's currently designed.



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