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| 2001/09/01 This article provides a quick overview of what is happening with the Microsoft case after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia reversed the decision to break up the company. Specifically I want to speak on how the decision relates favorably to the growth of the Internet economy. First, the heart of the matter in my opinion: It is inevitable that there will soon be no difference between the browser and the Operating System. You will no longer say, "I'm going to pull up IE or NS and get info about this subject on the web." Your browser will BE your Operating System, and would be more aptly named, I think, your Network Interface or Program Interface (since programs will eventually run on the web also). So in that sense, Microsoft is only being criticized for moving to the inevitable. The Appeals court did agree that Microsoft behaved anticompetitively by trying to maintain a monopoly with its Windows operating system. However it overthrew the claim of unlawful "bundling" of its Internet Explorer with its operating system, which will no doubt strengthen the company's ability to pursue new markets by tying more and more functions into its operating system. In fact, Microsoft has for some time been preparing for the release of the next operating system, Windows XP, which goes further than ever to make the browser and operating system synonymous. Today an Operating System manages programs; a browser manages (internet) Information. If you think about it for a minute, you'll realize that the two managers have to be more tightly merged; as important and instantaneously changing as programs and information are, the "program manager" and the "data manager" have to be, in effect, one person. Now, there are two countering claims in this matter: Clam one: Diversity creates the best product; competition stimulates diversity (and by diversity I mean a full range of options for performing a task). Microsoft is seeking to shut out competition and thereby the customer is deprived of rapid improvements by free-market choices and customers who drive the product line by voting with their pocketbooks. Claim two: Customers are exasperated by a lack of "big picture" solutions and are purchasing 4-10 software programs on average, for the benefit of a few features in each package, while never using 50% or more of the remaining features of each. Microsoft is seeking by Windows XP and other products to address the "big picture" need and has every right to do so. Needless to say, as someone involved with developing web-based solutions and who works with software, I favor the logic of claim two. Advocates of claim one should take a hard look at the recent dot com downturn of 2000-2001. It is my assertion that the mythical "e-customer" of business models never materialized precisely BECAUSE of the distance between the browser and the operating system. The logic of the customer, consciously or unconsciously expressed, is about like this: "I registered Windows. I entered my name and other info. I did it again when I registered Netscape Navigator. Both programs know that information; why do I have to constantly fill out forms? Shouldn't that happen automatically? Also, my browser received all of the information when I viewed the page. Why doesn't it keep an automatic record of my purchases? And an email to contact? And a shipping number? And why can't I have a record of my online purchases in a database instead of printing out receipts and doing it manually?" If you haven't had those thoughts, you must not have bought online much (or maybe that's WHY you never did); perhaps this article is not for you. However, those of us involved in the web through design, application programming, etc., have an interest in seeing the web WORK. We want to see those questions answered because we also realize that growth of the "e-customer" is the only thing that will spur growth in our industry, and thereby ensure our jobs. There is no question that Microsoft plays hardball; the court let stand the ruling that Microsoft did seek to maintain a monopoly position in in the way it made deals with PC manufacturers. However, I again reiterate my assertion-the only way e-commerce will work is if the end user gets a more integrated solution to buy; it is inevitable, it will happen. This brings up the reality that you probably can't have this happen if the two are separate software companies; one company would have to open up its source code in a way that is (legitimately) inappropriate, and the hosted company would lose a great amount of control over the look and feel and flow of its program. Meanwhile, Microsoft would have to realize that it can't do this job by itself. When is the last time you heard of someone using "Microsoft Money" (their answer to Quicken and Quickbooks by Intuit)? Every accountant I know uses Quickbooks almost exclusively. And it has only been three years or so in which Microsoft's Internet Explorer could remotely be compared with Netscape Navigator. Recall that the reason Microsoft's Operating System became so dominant was the freedom it gave to software developers to participate in the environment, as opposed to Apple which maintained much tighter control over its OS. So it is likely that Microsoft will welcome the participation of third party software (indeed it cannot do all this by itself). But I support allowing Microsoft to continue advancing the merge between Browser and Operating System; delaying this is ultimately costly for all of us, and remember, the customer is always right.
http://interactive.wsj.com/public/current/articles/SB993755881708445784.htm or http://interactive.wsj.com/public/current/summaries/microsft.htm Also credit for sources to Rebecca Buckman of the Wall Street Journal for her June 29th article, "With Its Old Playbook, Microsoft Is Muscling Into Big Web Markets: Using aggressive bundling, It roils internet industry with New Windows XP" |
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