Illegal operation

The Indian infotech industry has reacted to the ruling splitting Microsoft in two ways, both absurd. One group says that the judgement was...

The Indian infotech industry has reacted to the ruling splitting Microsoft in two ways, both absurd. One group says that the judgement was too harsh because it will scupper the business plans of the world8217;s pre-eminent technology company, which will directly affect the health of the industry.

An indefensible position, because there are other providers of the stuff that rolls off the Microsoft production line ready to step into the breach. The argument is retrograde besides. No man or institution, however big, can go against the rule of law in modern society. The other school of opinion holds that this ruling is irrelevant because Microsoft8217;s appeal won8217;t be ruled upon for a long time.

A ridiculous argument, because no matter how things go in appeal, this ruling will change the way the world regards and uses technology. The district court has taken a moral position which will have a permanent influence upon the industries of the future. The issue at stake in the Microsoft case is not about operating systems or technology markets. The judge has provided a simple answer to a fundamental question: Should the consumer have the right to free choice in the consumer age? No ethical person could entertain two points of view on that.

Bill Gates gained an early-mover advantage with MS-DOS, the operating system which powered the home computer. There on, his growth was inevitable in the OS market. But in 1998, he sought to get a stranglehold on the Internet as well with Windows 98. He embedded his Internet Explorer browser in the operating system on the pretext that it would make it easier to use computers. It does indeed, but it also makes it easier for the owner of the browser to influence user choice. Microsoft has always aggressively pushed computer vendors to preload their machines with its OS. Now, the browser was being preloaded as well.

In the networked age, a browser is your window to the world. The technologies it supports and the places it preferentially takes the user to influence his choices. It can determine who he does business with, what he eats, where he banks, what he reads, who he makes friends with, what he thinks of NAFTA, how he purchases tickets to Madrid or a movie, and at what discount. In other words, a monopoly in the browser market translates into a global monopoly over most human activities. According to Internet legend the Microsoft Network8217;s slogan, Where would you like to go today8217;, was originally supposed to read, 8216;Where would you like to be taken today8217;. An apocryphal story, but it rings true.

Besides, you would not have to sit down at a PC to be dominated by Microsoft. In the near future the multi-use PC will give way to small, specialised machines. Microsoft8217;s pre-eminence in the Internet PC market would have ensured its control over the new media and spaces these will use. Once set up, the monopoly could only grow. But after the ruling, this is no longer a possibility. Non-Windows operating systems have been carving their way into Microsoft8217;s market since 1999. Now, other players will have a real chance. The benefits of real competition for the consumer are obvious: lower prices, better fulfillment and the freedom of choice.