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Don't Be Soft On Microsoft (fwd)





---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Mon, 12 May 1997 20:43:21 -0700 (PDT)
From: Phil Agre <pagre@weber.ucsd.edu>
To: rre@weber.ucsd.edu
Subject: Don't Be Soft On Microsoft

[I'm not sure I would explain the danger posed by Microsoft by saying
that it keeps adding new features to its operating system.  But at least
somebody's doing something.  Someday soon when Bill Gates *owns* those
100 CEO's, it'll be too late for crying.]

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Date: Mon, 12 May 1997 00:54:54 -0700 (PDT)
From: Audrie Krause <akrause@igc.apc.org>
Subject: Don't Be Soft On Microsoft

<< NetAction Alert >> ___________________________________________________

Act Now to Stop Bill Gates From Becoming the Robber Baron of the Internet

Like John D. Rockefeller and other Robber Barons of the late 19th Century,
Bill Gates is ruthless in his quest to control an industry.  Microsoft's
operating system and software are already installed in the vast majority of
personal computers on the market today, and because Microsoft controls the
standards and architecture that control the design of software, the company
has a tremendous competitive advantage.    

If we don't act soon, Microsoft *will* become a monopoly.

>>>>> Support NetAction's Consumer Choice Campaign

NetAction has launched the Consumer Choice Campaign to mobilize cyberspace
consumers to demand stronger enforcement of the anti-trust laws that were
enacted to prevent monopolies.  To join the mobilization, learn more about
the issue, and find out what you can do to help, visit NetAction's Web site
at: http://www.netaction.org/msoft/index.html

Here's how you can help:

*** Tell federal officials you want our anti-trust laws fully enforced.  Use
the E-mail links on NetAction's Web site, or send messages to:
antitrust@usdoj.gov and antitrust@ftc.gov.  Tell them: Don't be soft on
Microsoft!  

*** Learn more about Microsoft and what you can do in your community and in
cyberspace by visiting the Consumer Choice Campaign on NetAction's Web site:
<http://www.netaction.org/msoft/ccc.html>.

*** Subscribe to the Micro$oft Monitor to keep informed of developments. Use
the form on NetAction's Web site, or send E-mail to: majordomo@manymedia.com  
In the body of the message, type: subscribe monitor   

*** Contact NetAction if you can help with the mobilization.  Send E-mail
to: akrause@igc.org.

>>>>> Why is a Microsoft Monopoly a Threat to Internet Users?

Microsoft is already a threat to the millions of cyber-citizens who use
personal computers to communicate over the Internet.  Most Americans value
the entrepreneurial spirit, and nowhere is this spirit more apparent today
than in the burgeoning computer industry.  Vigorous competition by computer
entrepreneurs has sparked innovation and brought a breathtaking array of new
products to the marketplace.  Consumers benefit from a competitive
marketplace because it gives us real choices in products and services.  But
if Gates succeeds in his quest to dominate the computer industry,
competition, innovation, and entrepreneurship will vanish.  

It seems to NetAction that Gates will stop at nothing to control the
computer industry.

Controlling the standards and architecture that control the design of
software is only way of the ways in which Microsoft gains a competitive
advantage.  Microsoft also takes choices away from consumers -- and market
share away from competitors -- by constantly adding new features to its
operating system.  Developers of competitive products are at a disadvantage
because only Microsoft knows in advance what changes are being planned for
its operating system.

For example, by adding the  Internet Explorer Web browser to its operating
system, and also configuring the system so that Netscape's Navigator won't
work properly, Microsoft effectively prevented Internet users from using its
competitor's product.

Wouldn't you rather decide for yourself which Web browser to use?  Why let
Bill Gates make that decision for you?

>>>>> What the Consumer Choice Campaign Plans to Do About Microsoft

The goal of the Consumer Choice Campaign is to mobilize cyberspace consumers
to send a message to the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Federal
Trade Commission (FTC), the government agencies responsible for
investigating anti-competitive business practices and enforcing anti-trust
laws.  We're asking you to tell the government: Don't be soft on Microsoft!
To contact the DOJ and FTC, send E-mail to: antitrust@usdoj.gov and
antitrust@ftc.gov.
 
Monopolies are illegal in the United States, but officials at DOJ and FTC
aren't enforcing our antitrust laws as vigorously as they should be.
Although the government has been looking at Microsoft's business practices
for several years, so far their efforts have resulted in little more than a
slap on Gates' wrist.  And it hasn't had *any* noticeable effect on his
relentless quest to dominate the industry.   

NetAction's Consumer Choice Campaign Web site includes additional background
information on Microsoft's anti-competitive activities, suggestions for
grassroots action by cyberspace consumers, links to other Web sites with
information on the issue, and E-mail forms to use to contact the DOJ and FTC.

As part of the mobilization, NetAction is launching the Micro$oft Monitor, a
free electronic newsletter that will bring you periodic E-mail updates on
federal anti-trust activities involving Microsoft, and action alerts when
it's especially important for federal officials to hear from cyberspace
consumers. 

With your help, we can stop Bill Gates from becoming the Robber Baron of the
Internet.  Join the mobilization, and tell the government: Don't be soft on
Microsoft!

>>>>> A Special Message for NetAction Notes Subcribers

This alert has been sent to inform you of the Consumer Choice Campaign.  If
you wish to receive future alerts about Microsoft, please subscribe to the
Micro$oft Monitor.  NetAction Notes will continue to address a broad range
of Internet organizing issues.

>>>>> About NetAction

NetAction is a national, non-profit organization dedicated to educating the
public, policy makers, and the media about technology-based social and
political issues, and to teaching activists how to use the Internet for
organizing, outreach, and advocacy.

NetAction is supported by individual contributions, membership dues and
grants. For more information about contributing to NetAction, contact Audrie
Krause by phone at (415) 775-8674, by E-mail at akrause@igc.org, visit the
NetAction Web site at: http://www.netaction.org, or write to: 
NetAction * 601 Van Ness Ave., No. 631 * San Francisco, CA 94102

Copyright 1997 by NetAction/The Tides Center.  All rights reserved.
Material may be reposted or reproduced for non-commercial use provided
NetAction is cited as the source.  NetAction is a project of The Tides
Center, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.   




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