From: "Attila T. Hun" <attila@hun.org>
Date: Thu, 5 Feb 1998 05:04:25 +0800
To: Tim May <cypherpunks@cyberpass.net>
Subject: Re: the best justice money can buy --Lessig suspended
In-Reply-To: <v03102802b0fd25414459@[207.167.93.63]>
Message-ID: <19980204.181907.attila@hun.org>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain



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on or about 980203:1222, in <v03102802b0fd25414459@[207.167.93.63]>, 
    Tim May <tcmay@got.net> was purported to have 
    expostulated to perpetuate an opinion:

>As for Attila's calls to break up MS...could make Bill Gates immensely
>wealthier, as he'd then have a piece of the 5 most successful software
>companies!

    after they extract the usual treble damages in antitrust
    litigation, Bill will probably retain significant
    assets, but he probably would not top the list of the
    very wealthy, and might not even make it.

>(I assume Attila is not arguing for simply seizing his property and
>giving it to others, or running it as a government company, or just
>padlocking the doors....)

    no, in fact, if there were a free market remedy for M$'
    monopoly, I would be in favour of it --and there is _no_
    free market remedy and failure to act promptly 
    conceivably wipe out all, or virtually all, of the 
    viable competitors.

    the purpose of antitrust legislation is solely to
    remedy an injustice caused by a private market segment
    which became a monopoly.  divestiture for M$ would
    generally be along the lines of AT&T except it would
    focus on divisions rather than regions; secondly, it
    would obviously restrict Gate$ involvement in more than
    one despite any stock ownership and might require Bill:

    a)  to sell all stock in units he does not control;

    b)  take his payout in stock from one unit only (less
        negative market); or,

    c)  he may not have enough left after Sherman Act 
        penalties to be a major stockholder --he might
        actually need to suffer through stockholders
        meetings like the rest of the CEOs.

    I would never advocate seizing assets for redistribution
    vis a vis Mugabe or whatever the despot's name is --what
    a waste-- if uncle Sam redistributed we would have
    Microsoft-Harlem, Microsoft-Watts, etc.  shit, I had to
    stop typing after the mirth of that thought!

    as for the government running _anything_ --how far do we
    need to look for the nearest government excess and total
    mismanagement, featherbedding, and corruption?  not far
    (you, Tim, on a non-clear day cant see very much from
    your hilltop --out here on the high desert ridges in So.
    Utah it is CAVU the vast majority of the time-- and I
    still cant see any as Feds are like Revenuers in KY).

    there are multiple issues:

    1.  Microsoft's almost good enough (for the market) 
        operating systems which probably should be 
        considered what we called firmware 25 years ago.  at
        this point >90% of the platforms run M$ in one form
        or another and as you acknowledge, SGI, DEC, and so
        on are all hedging their bets --which will become
        reality as soon as they open the floodgates. 

        in software, the sheeple follow the Judas goat to
        Redmond.

    2.  Microsoft "software"

        a)  office suite  --already 95% of desktop market

        b)  data base --maybe should be included in a) but
            Oracle, Sybase, IBM, etc have large installed 
            bases at a much higher cost per unit on servers

        c)  browser --certainly will be at 80% before year
            end as all OEMs so far have indicated they will 
            not cross M$ and switch. that leaves the rest of
            it up to the ISPs who could care less.

        d)  back office  --M$ moving in on this one real
            fast and it is now part of NT distribution-- 
            which then requires the browser and webserver
            for installation and maintenance.

        e)  web servers, firewalls, routers, etc.  --M$ is
            already getting the web servers with NT
            distributions and is poised to tackle firewalls
            and router dominance.  I question that they can
            ever configure NT on any hardware to do
            routing/switching effectively, efficiently, or
            competitively against dedicated hardware given 
            the new >1G switches.

    3.  M$ in cable systems.  cable systems are always cash
        poor from infrastructure expense.  M$ is buying in 
        and therefore influencing the choice of settops
        --and their format-- witness TCI. this further
        establishes M$ in the determination of standards
        --obviously to the detriment of everyone else-- and
        the FCC has mandated the boxes must be compatible
        across the board in a couple years and we all know
        who negotiates dirty and hard

        the only saviour in this one may be Time-Warner
        which so far is moving ahead with its 2way cable 
        system from Scientific Atlanta with a sparc chip,
        etc.  T-W has 2.5 million boxes on order and is
        planning extensive deployment 3rd quarter which 
        is at least 12 months before M$ can even beta test
        with TCI 

    4.  content...

        a)  msn which so far is harmless, but what would
            happen if Gate$ absorbed Assholes on Line?  or 
            really pushed MSN at POS and OEM.

        b)  msnbc which apparently still enjoys editorial
            censorship only from the usual channels of our 
            non-free press.

        c)  reference bookshelf in which the latest revision
            of the EnCarta encyclopediae described Gate$ as 
            a "philanthropist"  --cheap son of bitch only 
            coughed $100 million towards school internet as
            long as it was M$ product. he may have been
            better termed a misogynist (before he was
            married) given his terms of usage....

        content is where we really start to worry more than
        Bill's money, which has already bought influence: 
        the WSJ editorial page article by Bill striking back
        at the DOJ, the NYTimes column, the books, and the
        rest of the demigod worshipping media.

    Gate$' fortunes have been changing:  Gate$ now has for
    more enemies than his money can buy friends.  even the
    SPA has turned against him with their white paper on
    fair competition which is a direct shot across Gate$'
    bow --and Gate$' response was that their membership in
    SPA might not be renewed in August --economic threat. 
    The DOJ has expanded their scope and will probably file
    significant actions shortly (hopefully before the 21 Apr
    appeals court hearing)

    next are the states, eleven so far including NY, TX, IL 
    and CA where they have very definitely aggressive AGs. 
    and CA's is pissed over the sweetheart deal the CSU
    system gave M$ to supply everything as the "official
    vendor" of the CSU system which has 20+ campi and how
    many million students?

    complain about a McDonalds' generation?  shit, that's 
    only your stomach, not your mind --and at least there
    are other choices for food --I personally have never
    eaten at McDonalds; of course, that does not say much as
    I have never owned a television, either.

    we already have an M$ generation.  they all learned on 
    PCs and they all programmed to PCs and windows with
    their private APIs.  this is exactly what creating a
    positive feedback, self-enhancing market place does: 
    McDonalds grabbed their stomachs with their playgrounds,
    etc. and M$ twists their minds.

    BOTTOM LINE:  Gate$ manipulation, scheming, red-dog
    contracts, etc.  make Cornelius Vanderbilt look like a
    choir boy.  Gate$ style of management with Steve Ballmer
    as the heavy and Gate$ trying to cover his geekness as
    the "aw shucks" boy next door has had the curtain pulled
    to show what technically amounts to a legal "conspiracy"
    to dominate multiple markets, both vertically and
    horizontally.

    as such, M$ and their executives actions fall directly
    under the guidelines of part B of the Sherman Antitrust
    act which includes the usual penalties of divestiture,
    treble damages, and _criminal_ penalties.  secondly, M$
    and Gate$, if convicted of violating part 2, could then
    be construed as a "corrupt" meaning malicious intent

        the difference between misfeasance and malfeasance
        is that in the latter you were intentionally fucked

    which qualifies for RICO prosecution as well.  in 
    addition to the extremely severe criminal penalties, RICO
    does provide for confiscation of ill gotten assets
    --this would apply to Gate$ monetary gains, including
    his stock, which could be forfeited.

    frankly, I think it would be most amusing to see Gate$
    and Ballmer receiving the customary "3 hots and a cot"
    for such offenders and to need to work for a living like
    the rest of us when they earn their freedom.

    the fact that RICO could apply does not mean that it 
    will be trundled out --but it would be fitting justice. 

    I will never denigrate Gate$ determination to build M$
    and to proliferate the computer, which he did, a little
    too well.

    --but Gate$ crossed the line:

    Gate$' instinct set him on the path that competition
    means forcing everyone and their ideas (those that he
    did not steal, literally or figuratively) from the 
    marketplace --Bill can not compete; he must "own" the
    market.  William Henry Gates III expects to be crowned
    "William III" --see my rant on 16 Oct.  on DejaVu or:
 
      http://www.primenet.com/~attila/rants/gates/7a16-ms_monopoly.html

    not to be crass about it, but Gate$ has served his 
    purpose and outlived his usefulness --his defense
    against the DOJ, his further market actions while under
    attack, and his intent to trump the moot with Win98 are
    actions of a petty dictator; give Bill a shiny new
    uniform from a Napoleanic banana republic and let him
    prance around.

    any more of Gate$ not only becomes tiresome, but 
    hazardous to our health.  give me the hook...

    there is no free market remedy for M$' control of the
    market place as the consumer will not boycott something
    which a) costs them money do so; and, b) for which there
    is no ready substitute. the only alternative is to apply
    the anti-trust laws in the general interests of 
    society which does not mean government ownership or
    management.

    M$ stockholders may either make or lose money depending
    on the valuations the market assigns to each of the 
    divested divisions --but that is a risk you take in the
    market if your greed exceeds your wisdom. ask any VC, 
    whose greed is only exceeded by his fear.


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