From: "Harvey Rook (Exchange)" <hrook@exchange.microsoft.com>
Date: Mon, 29 Jun 1998 10:39:33 -0700 (PDT)
To: cypherpunks <cypherpunks@toad.com>
Subject: RE: saving the world from a cancerous monopoly
Message-ID: <2FBF98FC7852CF11912A00000000000108A78AC5@DINO>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain


From: attila [mailto:attila@hun.org]
> 	1.  M$' base operating system must be fully defined; eg-
> 	    the API interface must be made available to all. if
> 	    the API is not a moving target, emulators can be 
> 	    written enabling native WinTel s/w to run correctly
> 	    on other platforms (unix variants, OS/2, beos, apple,
> 	    etc). the increasing CPU "horsepower" makes this 
> 	    approach at least feasible.
> 	    
How do you plan on accomplishing this? The courts have said that they will
not design computers. Since freezing an API is tantamount to computer
design, this isn't going to happen any time soon.

More generlly, API's only freeze when the system is dead. Windows has, for
better or for worse, many years of life left in it. This means one way or
the other, MS will extend Windows as it needs. For them, freezing Windows
would be killing one of their cash cows.

> 	2.  M$ must be required to port it's major products to
> 	    other operating systems; it is worth noting that 
> 	    freeBSD, for instance, will run native binaries from
> 	    Linux and SCO variants which simplifies on set.

This is also very difficult to implement. How do you choose what OS/s to
port to? If MS can't expect to earn a profit from the port, then MS is
dumping software, which is not legal. Why choose x86 UNIX's (less than 10
million users) Why not MVS (more than 20 million users)?

Attila, I think you're jealous, and confused by MS's success. You don't
understand why someone would choose Windows (NT or 98) when OS's are
available that have a better core. And you desperatly want to change that.

Some terrible truths...

#1 Only MS, and Apple know how to make and OS that the mass market wants.
Apple unfortunatly doesn't know how to make hardware that the mass market
wants. 

#2 If people made decisions rationally, advertisements would consist of
nothing but readings from Consumer Reports.

#3 The typical computer user is getting less, not more intelligent. If an
x86 unix is to gain mass market popularity, it must become vastly more
usable. Most people don't know and don't care about the internals of the OS.
They don't want to think about it. They just want their documents and games
to be there when they click on them, and they want to surf the internet. Not
that Windows is perfect for usability, but it's a hell of a lot better than
UNIX.

But enough of this... this is cypherpunks, not alt.bash.microsoft. 

Take a peek at my email address if you want to see my bias.

ob cypher... I've got a validated C++ implementation of RC-6 email me if
you'd like a copy of the source.

Harv.