In Oracle suit, DOJ overlooks an old foe: Microsoft

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Key word: "just"

Justice is relative. Your opinion of justice and mine may vary widely; that doesn't necessarily mean that either is wrong. However, our sense of justice also has to fit within the "justice" system, which is (and always has been) subject to the foibles of human frailty (how's that for a catchy phrase?). Nobody ever said that the jusstice system is perfect, but at some point we all have to accept it in order for society to continue.

For example, think of those that feel a moral outrage at abortion. The courts ruled long ago that abortion is legal, and yet that does nothing to assuage the feelings of those that consider abortion "murder". People who are against abortion on moral grounds feel that the courts attempted to negate any debate by simply ruling one way (not their way). They feel moral outrage, are their feelings not to be considered? Do you agree that those people are at some point going to have to accept the courts' rulings and "move on", much as the "pro-Microsoft" people have been admonished (shortly after Judge Jackson's FoF)?

If it's appropriate for those groups to "move on", it is also appropriate for those that wanted harsher punishment for Microsoft to "move on". At least in the case of the DOJ, it ain't gonna happen. In almost every court case, there are those that will feel that justice was not done. That doesn't mean the courts were corrupt. It only means that there are people in the world, decent people, who don't see the issue the same way others do. Should the court sstem be "adjusted" until it suits your particular sense of justice?

Now as to Microsoft, if I'm not mistaken, Microsoft's practices with regards to OEMs have changed, directly as a result of the settlement with the DOJ. And weren't those practices at the heart of many of the complaints against Microsoft? So why isn't the changing of those practices sufficient? Doesn't Netscape Navigator still exist? Doesn't WordPefect still exist? What did Microsoft do that warrants the corporate equivalent of the death penalty? And there are other examples of how Microsoft's practices have changed, either as required by the settlement or in anticipation of future requirements or in response to renewed competition from unexpected sources.

And speaking of that, what has been the result of Microsoft's rise to "power" and the subsequent actions by the government and other opponents? The rise of the free/open software movement, as a direct result of not being able to compete with Microsoft in the commercial arena. Has that been a good thing? Or would it have been better for Microsoft to have been "stopped" sooner, when there were still viable commercial competitors? In the latter case, might that have delayed or even prevented the rise of the OSS? So, in a sense, one could say that Microsoft's monopoly has been good, in that it led much more quickly to the rise of free/open source software (which, as everyone seems to be saying, is the future of software). SO maybe we all should actually be thanking Microsoft?

To paraphrase myself, don't confuse justice with punishment. You obviously feel that Microsoft should have been "punished", and you also obviously feel that such punishment hasn't been forthcoming. As a result, you have decided that everyone involved must have been corrupted. Why in the world can't you accept that other people may see things differently than you do? Is that so hard to accept?

Carl Rapson

Posted by: rapson   Posted on: 03/02/04 You are currently: a Guest | Members login | Terms of Use

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