- Editorial Opinion - Editorial OpinionHere we go again. You'll have noticed that our Mega$loth® section has expanded further with our 'security leak' feature; which is based on first-hand experience; and there's more new stuff at the bottom of this page. Is that 'Microsoft bashing' I wonder?
Let me say first of all that I actually hold very little against Microsoft itself as a software company; I am much more concerned by what its present dominating; one might even say domineering; monopoly situation represents in a wider sense. It is not good when a company sticks up two fingers [1] to its national government, I think our transatlantic cousins would agree.
I will start by getting a couple of side issues out of the way so as to be free to concentrate on the strategic issue.
It is estimated that 85-90% of the world's computers now rely on Microsoft operating systems and software. The operating system is the heart of any computer; what goes into it is largely the province of its designers. This in itself confers a great deal of power on those designers. This is particularly the case where the operating system (OS) producer also produces other software, because a bit of collusion between the OS designers and the software designers can confer a number of advantages on that software, and hence power over competing products.
The present attempt by Microsoft to integrate its Internet Explorer software with its Windows 98 'OS' is an extremely disturbing development, for I believe it represents the first surrepititous move in an attempt to take over the world wide web, and turn an 'open to all' system into an exclusively Microsoft one. This has very serious implications for all disadvantaged people and those who have made a free choice to use the dwindling number of alternative systems, and may ultimately impact on the security and integrity of governments worldwide.
I firmly believe that there comes a point where power must only be exercised with the consent of those whom it affects. Microsoft are now exercising a degree of power which my instinct tells me is far and away beyond that which is acceptable in a democratic society.
I originally set up Phundria precisely because the then Conservative government were exercising power in a way that was manifestly against the wishes of three quarters of the electorate of Scotland, to the extent of threatening the stability and order of our society, of which we are justly proud.
I believe we have now reached the stage where the power of Microsoft must be curbed. We are now seeing the most powerful nation on Earth, the United States of America, seemingly powerless to act firmly against them, and yet it is they who have allowed Microsoft to achieve their present dominating position, and they who must deal with the issue. The situation of both the prosecuting and defending litigants using the defendant's products on PCs, if recent televised courtroom scenes are anything to go by, is extremely ironic. There could be a dark side too, if some of the disturbing features of certain Microsoft products are true. Could Microsoft get access to the contents of the prosecutors' computers by way of the Internet without them knowing? I know enough about computing to know that it is possible, and very frightening if indeed it is true. Others point to disturbing facts which suggest that it may well be. [2]
In Britain and the European Community this situation poses a serious threat to some of our most highly innovative companies, notably Psion and Acorn, who really do have the potential to compete on the world stage. Why should we allow them to be sacrificed in the cause of this bloated juggernaut?
Splitting apart the OS and Software divisions of Microsoft, which is presently being mooted, may not be the right solution either; swapping a monopoly for an oligopoly might leave us with a hydra-like entity in its place, with even worse implications for the future.
One of the better solutions might be for a requirement for the complete functionality of Operating Systems and Graphical User Interfaces to be totally open and documented, then licensed or accredited according to some form of international treaty. That might enable more fair competition to be established, and allow alternative and perhaps better though functionally identical systems to be developed.
Another might be to actively encourage the development of virtual machine interfaces, such as Sun's Java. This, put simply, means that the operating system becomes a choice, not a requirement, to run certain software.
None of these solutions is wholly satisfactory in my view; none properly addresses the power issue, and all may inhibit inventiveness and diversity, and thus choice; a key ingredient of any market.
Proper diversity and fair, free choice must be restored to this part of the market.
Has the United States Government got the power and will to grasp this nettle? I hope so, but I'm not holding my breath ...
To quote from a recent editorial in another publication:
'How can we allow a single company to exert so much power and influence over our lives and our minds?'
Are we Microsoft Bashers? I think not. We're simply using some gentle satire to, hopefully, encourage our readers to think seriously about what's going on.
[1] 'The finger' for US readers.
[2] In particular, look up 'Pfaffenberger' and <LOGTARGET> in this document, which is also a good source of pointers to other worrying facts.
We've got a first glance at New Labour® - New Computing, which is a wee dig at Tony Blair's new government, with a sideways poke at Mega$loth® as always. There will be more along shortly.
We've also got the first page of Mega$loth® Fatpage ready - the biggest webpage editor on the Planet. This is just a taster - We hope to develop the theme further in due course. Pass any page created by this behemoth through a validator and you're in for a rude shock! This is what we mean about a domineering attitude on the part of Mega$loth®. It's just one manifestation of their attitude towards internationally agreed standards.
supports the 
and the 
campaigns.