|
AN EDITORIAL by Erik Laykin |
 Why does Microsoft not pay tribute to the bureaucrats in Washington? How dare Microsoft make a product which is so universally accepted that the competition can not compete? We must stop the selling of Internet Explorer with Windows '95, it is not up to Microsoft to do what they wish with their product. Windows '95 belongs to the people, and should be controlled by the government. Why should Bill Gates control it's use...he is not playing by the rules...he must be stopped.
Sounds crazy, but this is what is happening in "free" America today.
Earlier this century, Ayn Rand (1905-1982), the American Author of Atlas Shrugged(1957) and The Fountainhead (1943) suggested in her classic moral tales on objectivism and American Capitalism that the greatest achievement of mankind was not societies achievement collectively but of the individual man at his optimum creativity and performance. Therefore society should not be held in higher esteem than individuals, men should be praised, for it is through the efforts of individuals that the collective benefits. Leaders like the fictional Hank Rearden who invents a better metal, called Rearden Metal - a metal so good that it leaves the competition in the dust. A metal that Rearden spent every last dime and ten years of his life developing. A metal so good that the government invokes the "Equalization of Opportunity Bill" which forces Rearden to sell his metal to his competitors and only allow him to produce an amount himself in accordance with a strictly enforced quota. Men like John Galt, who develops a motor that renders all other motors useless. But when society crowds these men, they elect not to acquiesce, not to fight, but simply to walk away. In many cases destroying the fruits of their effort. In the case of factories, by leveling those that they own. In the case of trains, by tearing up the lines that they own. In the case of artists, by burning their work. In the case of John Galt, by destroying his plans which outline the motor of the future. Should Ayn Rand be writing today, you might have found find her essay in the New York Times and it would go like this: "Today, the richest man in America, the self made billionaire Bill Gates has disappeared. It has been announced by the Microsoft Corporation that overnight Mr. Gates completed his buyout of shares held by all Directors of the Company and that he has released all of these Directors from their duties. All that remains of Mr. Gates is his staff of lawyers which have been paid in full ad infinitum and his last will and testament of which the following paragraph is of significance to society at large. I, Bill Gates do hereby decree that in my absence there shall be no further sales of Microsoft Products, no further development of Microsoft Products. All code and all databases have been deleted permanently. All existing licenses shall be allowed to remain in circulation and will be monitored for counterfeiting closely. No outstanding debt exists, all payable have been paid. The remaining balance of the Microsoft liquid holdings which amounts to just over 33 Billion Dollars will be used exclusively to monitor, uphold and enforce all patents and copyrights of the Microsoft Corporation and to prosecute any violators thereof. ....good luck world. Who is John Galt? Who is Bill Gates?" America has given birth to many pioneering leaders who have in their own capacity as human individuals found tremendous achievement to be their hallmark, achievement which has lent benefit to society as a whole. People like Thomas Edison, Henry Ford, Alexander Graham Bell, Orville Wright and Wilbur Wright come to mind as do legendary Americans such as Benjamin Franklin and Abraham Lincoln. In 1998 we have one such American, Bill Gates. Regardless of Mr. Gates motivation, or reasons for building software that the world now accepts as the standard, the objective "bottom line" is simply that this is a man who has delivered to the world a product, a product of his vision and talent. Equally as simplistic in theory; the world can take it or leave it. The world chose to use Mr. Edisons Light Bulb and Mr. Bell's telegraph and telephone. The world has chosen to use Microsoft Windows 95 with Internet Explorer 4.0 as well. As a user of computers who got their start in the days of DOS, I clearly remember why I chose Microsoft Word for DOS over Word Perfect for DOS. For me it was userability, the fact that the Microsoft product seemed to address more of my needs. On the inception of Windows 3.0 it was also very clear to me that here was a company that was innovating. Microsoft took me from staring at a black screen with Cyan text to a White screen with black scalable fonts. I was happy. I gave Warp a chance, I gave Next a Chance I even gave Apple a really big chance, but in the end the introduction of Windows 3.1, 3.11, NT, and '95 consecutively made my life more interesting, more fulfilling, more productive and more organized. Don't forget, the world also gave Studabaker and the Edsel a chance, but today the best selling car in America is the Honda! As an American who believes in pluralistic democracy I become frustrated when I read of the efforts of my government to reign in and stifle one of our countries greatest achievers - Microsoft. Federal Judge Jackson who has thus far been responsible for initiating this latest round of attacks on our modern day Henry Ford has such a limited understanding of the issue which he has ruled on that he does not comprehend what the significance of the Microsoft Internet Browser "Explorer" is to Windows, and in particular the new Windows 98 which is fully integrated with the browser. In taking such an important action without full knowlege of the subject matter, our goverments reputation and name is only further damaged. To request that Microsoft remove the browser from the operating system would be akin to suggesting that Motorola sell pagers without readouts, or cellular phones without keypads. Has America not already lost enough industry to the world at large? Where was your television set manufactured? Where were your running shoes made? The internet is a key to the future development of American democracy, and is pivotal in the maintaining of American superiority in Communications which ultimately helps contribute to continued American economic and military strength.
A fragmented Operating System market does not lead to growth, it leads to division and polarization of various segments of the computer using public. The American government should let market forces run their course, and in this case that would mean that Microsoft Windows '95 bundled with Internet Explorer 4.0 would maintain it's dominenace and perhaps become the sole OS of use in personal computers. Should this happen, innovation can will continue in equally as important segments of the industry such applications, delivery and content. Put it this way, we have VHS, but at one time we also had Beta. Market forces led to the demise of Beta, and now VHS provides a stable format for all video tape users to use. Pricing has become more competitive and the overall selection of VHS tapes have expanded exponentially due to the fact that retailers and rentals firms do not have to stock the same content in two formats. Microsoft has provided America with a rich opportunity to maintain our lead in the most important industry of our age - the information industry; Bill Gates and the Microsoft Corporation need your support now in it's defensive fight against a government which does not appear to uphold basic rights of self determination in the marketplace.
Link to the Sporkin Opinion Link to An Opinion Critical of Microsoft Link to Capitalism.Com - Stop the Persecution of Bill Gates
|
