Nick Clarke passed away yesterday after a battle with cancer. His was one of the memorable, reassuring, and gentle voices on Radio 4. I cannot think of another political interviewer who did not seem to have any outward display of loving the sound of their own voice. I shall certainly miss him.
Monthly Archive for November, 2006
Adobe is apparently thinking of suing Microsoft for including a ‘Save as PDF’ feature in Vista, the new version of Windows due for release next month. [Adobe boss won't rule out suing over Vista, The Register] It comes on the heels of year in which companies like Symantec have come sobbing to competition authorities because Microsoft has built antivirus and security software into Vista. And let’s not forget that only a few years ago Microsoft was prosecuted (“successfully”) on both sides of the Atlantic for breaching competition rules by bundling functionality into Windows that competed with established third party software (e.g. the web browser [United States vs Microsoft, Wikipedia], and media player [European Union Microsoft antitrust case, Wikpedia]).
Supposedly the reason behind this is that because whilst it is not illegal to form a monopoly, once you have dominance in a market you must not abuse that position to create a monopoly in another market. That’s fair enough, actually. The problem is when geeks get to define the market in unfairly narrow terms.
Let’s face it to the average user a personal computer system is a tool. They don’t, in general, care what particular bits of software or hardware are in it. They are interested in the complete package and what it can or can’t do for them. Let’s take the motorcar industry as an analogy. Let’s say Ford had a dominant position in the market. Would we then prosecute the company for using that position to then establish dominance in the market for car light bulbs or stereos? Of course not! To the average user its just part of the car. It’s part of the experience. So, the bundling of a web browser, disk compression or any other feature is just part of the personal computing experience that consumers seek to buy.
No-one has ever prosecuted Apple or assorted Linux/Unix suppliers for bundling their preferred browser into their operating systems. My Macintosh has had “Save as PDF” functionality built-in for years. It’s something I really value. Why shouldn’t Microsoft be allowed to include that too? Or are we so jealous of those that are commercially successful that we have to find what way we can to cripple their innovation?
All this talk of unfair competition is poppy cock. Microsoft is in the software business and should be allowed to include whatever functionality it wants within its software. Only geeks care about the boundary between an operating system, a web browser and a PDF creator.
In a lecture at Stanford University, Bill Gates argues that with the rise of China, the US needs to look beyond the American century and adopt a multi-lateral view, both economically and militarily. [“US superpower status challenged – Gates”, The Register]
Interestingly, Mr Gates shrewdly points to increasing immigration controls as one of the trends that is having a negative impact on US competitiveness and innovation. What hope then for the UK and the rest of Europe where problems with community cohesion are causing genuine public unrest over immigration, resulting in politicians rushing to show-off their anti-immigration credentials? Our economic future depends on successful immigration. Let’s hope our leaders can rise to the challenge of community cohesion rather than simply pandering to reactionary prejudices.