Microsoft is not the Evil Empire

Computer Life column for May 23, 1998
by
Richard Gordon

Is it open season on Bill Gates?

One of the hottest video clips being e-mailed around the 'Net shows Gates at the podium during the recent COMDEX trade show. He and a staff member are demonstrating Windows98, when, just like it happens to the rest of us, the operating system crashes.

Of course, when we crash Windows or the Macintosh operating system, it doesn't usually happen in front of thousands of reporters and video cameras.

Some of my friends positively gloated over Gates's public embarrassment-and I smiled, too.

This week, the US Department of Justice brought an action against Gates and Microsoft for anti-trust violations (www.usdoj.gov/atr/cases3/micros/ms_index.htm), and several states brought actions against Microsoft regarding "unfair marketing practices."

Some people love to hate Gates and his empire the same way people used to hate one mega-giant phone company back in the 60's and 70's. Remember who was behind the evil in "Our Man Flint"? Remember phone workers chanting "Ma Bell is a cheap mother!" while on strike in the early 70's?

A couple of decades later, the Baby Bells have begun to merge again into larger companies so that they can run more cost-effectively. If the government were to break up Microsoft, that pattern might repeat itself.

Further, Microsoft management feels that it has a defensible position. In an article that is part of ABCNews.com's coverage (www.abcnews.com/sections/business/DailyNews/microsoft_timeline980416), Microsoft spokesman Jim Cullinan points out that the same agencies that are suing Microsoft for unfair business practices have themselves taken advantage of Microsoft's volume discounts. Cullinan concludes that "Every company throughout the world provides discounts on a volume basis. It's good business sense. Now we're not supposed to do that?"

At least the US Department of Justice had the good sense not to use Microsoft Word to create the latest anti-Microsoft complaint. They used WordPerfect.

Unscientific Fun

I decided to ask some of my friends what they thought about Gates and his little software firm.

About a quarter of the respondents said they "respect" or "admire" Gates, about a quarter said they had neutral feelings, one said he "feared" Gates, and the remainder offered mixed opinions: for example, admiring his business sense, his recognition of the direction computing and networking are headed, or his insistence that Microsoft support adaptive technology, but loathing some of Microsoft's strong-arm marketing tactics.

Two people indicated that they feared the monopoly that Microsoft has become, but most guessed that those who dislike Microsoft are jealous or rooting against the front-runner. For example, an MBA student commented that "If Gates hadn't played such hardball with vendors, and if he weren't so successful (read 'rich'), people wouldn't be so angry. We like the idea of underdogs but not shrewd, business cleverness."

One colleague, after bashing Gates (comparing him to Captain Hook-a necessary evil in our fantasy) and Microsoft (comparing its products to the Death Star), admitted that it didn't make sense to bust up Microsoft.

It's much easier if we can think that a giant like Microsoft is 100% good or 100% evil. But just as we complain about the electric company or the postal service, we complain about Microsoft for two reasons: First, they have done such a good job of delivering their service that any flaw becomes a big deal. And, second, they make a big, easy target.

I'm a loyal Netscape user; am continually amazed at the increased size and complexity of Microsoft Windows, Excel, Word, and Powerpoint; share one of my friend's concerns about the ever-growing hardware requirements for these programs; and still use Macintoshes a lot of the time.

But I confess that I use a lot of Microsoft software quite productively.

Copyright © 1998, The News Journal Company

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