Gazillion Pound Gorilla

i've been slashdotting again, which explains today's obsession with operating systems. in an ideal world, OSSoftware and commercial software would have a mutually beneficial symbiotic relationship. i've read my fair share of slashdots from professional programmers who work on open source projects during off-work hours. a lot of programmers have had more time for open source projects in recent years. they lost their jobs in droves after the tech bubble burst and during the jobloss recovery that followed. i often read tales of paid work that is sporadic and sans benefits. some of them are experiencing rather severe middle class economic anxieties.

it's depressing when one realizes how many programmers despair of ever obtaining steady, well-compensated employment in the industry again. nevertheless, they still love programming. i think their devotion to open source software is motivated on some level by a desire for revenge. they view OSSoftware 'movement' as an 'attack' on the commercial software 'system'. this meme has materialized most concretely in the rising showdown between microsoft and linux.

lemme see if i can outline the linux groupies' Manifesto Against Micro$oft.

thesis:

microsoft embodies everything that is wrong with the current commercial software market.

claims against microsoft:

1. microsoft has an unwarranted monopoly


2. microsoft's monopoly threatens the security of networks and personal computers around the globe


3. microsoft's monopoly stifles competition


4. microsoft's monopoly stifles innovation


5. microsoft's monopoly allows it to get away with illegal business practices


6. microsoft's monopoly allows it to get away with blatant attempts to stifle free expression

summary of arguments:

microsoft products' highly publicized, painfully costly vulnerability to viruses, trojans, and worms highlights the profound flaws in microsoft's source code. yet, microsoft has an iron grip on the desktop market, the office software market, the internet browser market, and a lesser, but still considerable grip on the server market. additionally, their popular email service, hotmail, is notorious for its vulnerability to spam and hack attacks.

microsoft has acquired enormous resources through their dominance in the aforementioned markets. it is now using those resources to plunder smaller companies of their innovative technologies, often incorporating them into their own products in blatant violation of copyright and patent laws. microsoft not infrequently abuses collaborative efforts with smaller companies to gain access to their source code in order to steal it.

however, microsoft does not have to resort to illegal means to stifle competition. it does that because it can. the company also can and often does make use of its vast fortunes to buy smaller companies with innovative products in order to remove those products from the market or to sell the products itself. some innovative technologies therefore never reach the market, and those that do are controlled by a monopoly, with its consequent costs for the consumer who faces fewer choices and higher prices in addition to the security risks inherent in a software market dominated by one company.

microsoft is extremely hostile to the open source software community, particularly the contingent of linux enthusiasts and developers. it has viewed the growing popularity of linux as a threat and has set its sights on the entire open source software community. microsoft's mounting attacks on the open source software community are nothing less than an attack on free speech. their tactics are quickly leading us to a business and social environment that threatens what is good about capitalism -- competition, innovation, efficiency, and best of all, progress.

wow. this post is much longer than i originally intended. i will stop here for now. this subject requires more extended exploration. later, i'll address the individual claims and the relevant supporting and opposing evidence.