by Al Massey
In a High-Tech version of “Send in the Clowns,” Sen. Orrin Hatch, R. Utah and Chairman of the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee, has decided to hold public hearings to examine how public policy such as antitrust regulations should evolve in order to ensure competition and innovations in the computer industry.
In what can only be described as a clear-cut case of reverse engineering, he invited such innovative competitors as Netscape’s Jim Barksdale, Head Micro-Softy Bill Gates, and Sun Microsystems’ Scott McNealy to air their views on those subjects.
At the outset those Three Micro-Tears seemed hell-bent on declining the offer. That is, until Barksdale realized Gates and McNealy had bowed out and he would have the stage to himself. Well, quicker than you could say IE4, Gates suddenly found the time i n his busy schedule and McNealy allowed as how, in the interest of good government, he would be there also.
This proves to be quite a show. Barksdale, Gates and McNealy all explaining the intricacies of competition and innovation in the computer industry. I can just hear chairman Gates explaining the concept of “buying the competition and then turning the purc hase into a new industry standard.” This will be followed by McNealy explaining Sun’s big hammer approach, “if at first it doesn’t work, get a bigger hammer”. And finally Barksdale will take the stage with his rendition of “why is everyone always picking on me?”
I can hardly wait for the movie to come out.
I had the bittersweet pleasure of attending a meeting of small business users the other day. I say bittersweet because in the words of one attendee the small business is “somewhat like one of the lost tribes,” so far as Microsoft is concerned. It appears that large businesses, ones with “enlightened” IT departments, are migrating to NT, and consumers are entrenched in Windows 95 or in a holding pattern for Windows 98.
There is a strong feeling in the small business community that they are being left out of the loop. The consensus of opinion is that Windows 95 is clearly a consumer product and NT is too high-powered an environment for the small business. Larger firms a re migrating to NT in near record numbers and are buying less Win95.
The people I talked to are not planning to move into the NT environment and numbers seem to bear them out. Only 9% planned to migrate to NT in a recent survey. The main reason cited was they simply did not have the staff and/or dollars necessary to make the move.
Where does this leave them? Well, for one thing, they will just elect to stay in the Win95 or 3.1 platform for the foreseeable future, but they don’t have to like it. With roughly 2 million small businesses in this category I won’t be surprised if Micros oft or someone doesn’t address this dilemma before long.
If the Microsoft/Department of Justice conflab were televised it would be more entertaining than the OJ trial.
You will recall that back on Dec. 11 of last year Judge Penfield Jackson issued a court order for Microsoft to deliver a version of Windows without the Internet Explorer browser included. Naturally, Microsoft promptly appealed, and the Justice Department just as promptly stepped in to ask Judge Jackson to hold Microsoft in contempt. This is known in legal circles as “fair is fair.”
Basically, the Justice Department wants Microsoft held in contempt because it seems the boys from Redmond offered up two options that the DoJ considers “worthless.” Microsoft fired back and said that Judge Jackson “overstepped” his authority by pronouncing an order the government did not actually lay out when it charged Microsoft in the first place.
One of the more stellar moments came when Judge Jackson cornered Microsoft VP David Cole in court and said, “It seemed absolutely clear that I entered an order that required you to distribute a product that would not work? That’s what you’re telling me?” Cole responded, “In plain English, yes. We followed that order. It was not my place to consider the consequences.” This seems to give a whole new meaning to “the letter of the law.” I will attempt to keep you up to date on this case as it moves along, b ut I fear the batteries in my pacemaker will have to be changed out a couple of dozen times before it is all over.
“Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach him to use the Net and he won’t bother you for weeks”
It’s happened again, when will they ever learn? An irresistible force in the form of American Business interest has collided with an immovable object, the U.S. Federal government.
When this occurs, and it seems to occur when the moon is full, committees are formed, and corporations find out that they are not as irresistible as first thought. This time the problem is encryption and in typical fashion the Export Council has appointe d a 20 member Encryption Subcommittee to address the situation. You know your data is safe when it is announced that the members of the Subcommittee will have security clearances and “SOME” of their meetings will be held in public. I haven’t felt this sa fe since I was appointed to a six-month Telecommunications committee four years ago.
The government cryptocrats want the subcommittee to justify restrictions on encryption. Only problem I can see is the committee is peppered with police, everyone from the president of the National Sheriffs Association to the top cop at the University of Texas and the Michigan State Police are represented. Remember this is a 20-member panel!
Basically, police groups are all for encryption so long as they have a copy of the keys. A letter that Commerce Department undersecretary William Reinsch sent to subcommittee members on February 13 says: “We look to the experience and knowledge of the su bcommittee members in helping us develop ways to maintain efficient and effective export controls in an ever-changing global marketplace.”
Well, I certainly feel safe, how about you?
In the “figures don’t lie, but liars figure” department comes word that the Web has experienced a 25% spurt since last August. In typical fashion Public Relations spin-doctors are taking credit for this bit of expansion in cyberville. They credit the sim ple fact of adding Web URLs to mainstream media advertising for bringing record numbers of newbies to the World Wide Wait.
Market researcher Relevant Knowledge proudly published results of their study showing almost 55.4 million people, 12 years or older, have accessed the Web from home, work, or college in the last month. “The growth in the number of Web users over the past few months can likely be attributed to an increase in business usage and home computer sales, as well as the growth of Web site advertising in traditional media,” the study explained. “Wherever you look, URLs are being associated with brand names, which is also driving more people to the Web,” the study continued. Males continue to dominate the Web, making up 57 percent of users. Business usage has continued to rise with 36 percent of Web users accessing the Web from the workplace.
Al Massey is a HAL-PC member who can be contacted at almas@hal-pc.org.
E-mail me at mfoster@hal-pc.org with any comments you have and tell me what you want to see here.