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Constructive Conversation - Part III-1/2
To: Doc Searls doc@searls.com From: Doug Skoglund - skoglund@pdmsb.com Date: Sunday, July 3, 2005 08:00 am CDT Subject: Constructive Conversation - Part III-1/2 I am waiting on Part IV until you have had a chance to respond to Part III. I know that you have been very busy so I will continue to wait patiently. In the meantime, I want to react to your concerns about DRM. If my memory serves me correctly, DRM, Digital Rights Management is Microsoft's capitulation to the media content people, that serves an additional purpose for M$. It advances their anti-competitive agenda by further eliminating support for pre-XP operating systems and developers not wishing to move to the latest technology. We are having all these problems with DRM, patents, etc., because of the lack of an organization that speaks for the technical community. The only organization that I know of is the Computer & Communications Industry Association, headed by Edward J. Black. Representing a small list of companies, they were the only source of technical information during all of the DOJ Anti-trust proceedings against Microsoft. The only effect the CCIA had was to finally reach a settlement with Microsoft that netted Mr. Black a nice enhancement to his personal bankroll. The only other voice that I know of is Bill Gates and his $50 Billion. And it will only get worse, as long as Gates and company believe that they can drive the market. And I don't see any effort capable of changing the direction of M$, not even Linux. Accurate numbers are not available to the general public; however, various stories over the past year or so lead me to believe that Microsoft has cornered between 40% and 60% of the PC market with Windows XP. Let's agree that the market is split down the middle -- pro and con Microsoft. I understand that Linux is somewhere around 10% and growing, which leaves some 40% still using pre-XP operating systems. Now, that is a pretty good sized market. I don't believe that Microsoft will allow Linux to grow much further without some kind of government control -- please, no extended debate on that statement right now since I am more interested in that other 40%. Gates obviously believes that he will eventually get that 40% and I can't find anyone concerned enough to get involved. I just happen to have a piece of middleware that sits on top of Windows and offers a third alternative between Linux and XP. http://pdmsb.com I can't even get anyone to look at it; therefore, it is pretty obvious to me that M$ anti-competitive practices have been very successful. Another alternative for me would be to find someone willing to support an effort to port my application to Linux. Do you know anybody with that kind of interest?? You know something?? If those Democrats weren't so damn dumb, they would stop all the silly bickering and vote the current issues up or down as best they can. Stop the Dean rhetoric and go for a full scale, 9-11 type investigation of the Microsoft, and now the Intel, anti-trust matters. The aftermath of the 9-11 Commission Report is still rumbling in Congress -- add another similar commission and we could get some Congressional changes. Doug Skoglund - http://ifihadmyway - http://pdmsb.com
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