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IP: "Dave Farber disagreed with my recent column [ Dan Gilmor's ] on Microsoft and how to deal with Windows XP. Here's his take:"
From: David Farber <dave () farber net>
Date: Thu, 09 Aug 2001 06:56:50 -0400
Dave Farber on Microsoft and Windows XP Dave Farber disagreed with my recent column [ Dan Gilmor's ]on Microsoft and how to deal with Windows XP. Here's his take: First let me make my position clear. I am not a fan of MS behavior. I and a handful of others traded the comfort of sitting by and watching and kibitzing for the stress of getting in front of a federal judge and telling it the way we saw it. I have changed none of the testimony I gave then and standby everything I said. What I see is the issue behind the attempt to stop the introduction of MS Windows XP is the beginning of a slippy slope leading to the inevitable regulation of the software industry by the courts at a level that will severely damage the US economy. All the evidence I can see says the court system is not prepared to examine software architecture and to determine what is modular proper programming and what is not. What the packaging of DLL that allow maximum competition and what is not. What interfaces are validly hidden from applications and which are not. I believe that it is appropriate for the courts to examine whether licenses are anti-competitive or not and to rectify by court action improper licenses and marketing arrangements in keeping with the findings of the courts. If the Government -- that is the Courts, Congress and/or Executive think that there must be supervision of certain aspects of the software architecture, there are several ways of implementation. One is the creation of another bureaucracy in DC. As a guy who just spent a wonderful year at the FCC and they are doing a good job given the laws they must enforce, lets not have the FCC II -- namely the Federal Computer Commission. The other is to pass laws and have judicial oversight and supervision. The problem with this is that judges don't have the knowledge necessary to navigate between the conflicting claims of the sides in such manners. The only way I know of to make this work with out destroying our industry is to leave those judgements in the hands of real experts in software systems. Look at the mechanism of the Master that the FTC created in the AOL/TW merger case to oversee the activities of the use of AOL/TW facilities by the three required ISPs. Choose a panel of technical masters and make them focus only on the technical/architectural issues and advise the court as to the facts and any possible cures. Require the judge to make rulings that are technologically based on these facts and the law not on endless legal documents that will obscure the facts. I for one would prefer not to see the government/courts micro-manage the software industry. If MS is violating the law, break them up and put the full power of the legal process to work. Don't assume that patching a bit there and a bit here will work. If they are not guilty, leave them alone. Lets rapidly decide what the answer is. http://web.siliconvalley.com/content/sv/2001/08/08/opinion/dgillmor/weblog/index.htm#farber For archives see: http://www.interesting-people.org/
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- IP: "Dave Farber disagreed with my recent column [ Dan Gilmor's ] on Microsoft and how to deal with Windows XP. Here's his take:" David Farber (Aug 09)