I happen to agree with Bartcop's statements about how we - the American people -
fucked Bill Clinton.  Clinton gave us some of the best years we've had in a while, and we
repaid him by letting the GOPenises try to screw him over.  Hell, some of us did more than
just "let" this happen - we actively participated.  And for that, we should ALL be ashamed.

I didn't like Clinton much when he was first elected, although I'd even have voted for Ross
Perot or Jesse Ventura to get Bush the First out of the White House.  However, I grew to
respect the man immensely after watching him deal with the screwjob most of us tried to foist
off on him.  He handled an extremely ugly situation with as much grace and aplomb as was
possible under the circumstances, and I - for one - admire him for it.
As is so often the case in an unfair world, he deserved far better than what he got.

Which leads me to Microsoft.

I work with computers and networks.  All kinds - PC, Macintosh, Unix - you name it.
I'm A+ certified, as well as holding a Microsoft certification in the Windows 95 OS.
When your network printer doesn't print, your server doesn't serve, or your router doesn't route,
I'm the guy who comes out and fixes it.  To put it bluntly, I know my shit.
And I'm telling you flat out that Microsoft is NOT a monopoly in any way, shape, or form.

I don't care what some idiot judge who couldn't tell a hard drive from a hard dick says.
As long as you can DOWNLOAD an operating system for FREE, calling Microsoft a monopoly
is political horseshit of the most smelly sort.  It's not Bill Gates' fault you're all too stupid to
download and install FreeBSD or one of the Linux flavors. And the fact that he has the only
reasonably-priced product you CAN install with a two-digit IQ does NOT make him a monopolist.

Want to see a monopoly?  Try to get cable TV from a company OTHER than
the one that paid off your city or county politicians.  Now THERE'S a monopoly.
But that's okay - hell, it's a GOVERNMENT-APPROVED monopoly.

Do you have ANY idea where the "monopoly" bullshit came from?
It came from our beloved politicians, doing the bidding - as usual - of large
corporations who couldn't compete with Microsoft in the open market.

Microsoft was perceived for years as a bunch of upstarts.  They had NO
political connections, other than those of Gates' father, a wealthy attorney.
And their origin as a bunch of hippies was apparent in certain aspects of their policy.

For instance, did you know that Microsoft has - or at least USED to have - a
publicly-stated corporate policy AGAINST drug-testing?  Considered it
an "invasion of the employee's privacy" of all things.  Imagine that.
Of course, by now Microsoft probably has the same piss-in-a-bottle routine
as most places.  I noticed they made the top 20 list of corporations
contributing to Bush's campaign.  But can you blame them?

Did we stand up for them or defend them?  No.  Just like with Bill Clinton, we let the
assholes fuck them over with this "monopoly" bullshit. Some of us even helped, apparently
thinking there might be a few bucks to be had. And now they've gone over to the dark side.
Sweet.

When are we going to learn?  If we don't stand up for others, there
will soon be no one left to stand up for us.

David, a question:

Would Microsoft have fewer problems if they dealt with their competition
in a less than two-shots-to-the-head mentality?

I don't condemn them for getting big.
I condemn them for having 95 percent of the market,
with all of them richer than their wildest dreams ever permitted,
THEN using all their power to choke off that last five percent?

Unilke you, I don't know much about this subject.
I just know what happens when you try to do anything with
a computer that isn't exactly how Mr. Gates wants you to do it.

If Microsoft was a gas station, they'd want to be able to suggest
which roads you're going to take on the trip you're gassing up for.
Once the government drops their case, won't Microsoft want
to grant you permission to drive the road you want to take?
When the dust settles, who will be able to say "No," to Microsoft?

...that reminds me...

That could be a comedy bit:
 

Top Ten ways Karl Rove differs from Bill Gates.

10.
  9.
  8.
  7.
  6.
  5.
  4.
  3.
  2.
  1.

   If everyone sent in 3-4, we'd have a killer Top Ten