RE: No Microsoft Breakup

I agree, though with the browser it should be a non-issue.  The browser was
once a software product, now it's an interface.  I think that eventually we
should reach a point where we don't conspicuously "launch" the browser.
Whether you're pulling up a spreadsheet or an app or a web page or a folder
the interface should be a seamless integration of the OS and the desktop.

Bundling Word, Excel, or PowerPoint while making it difficult for
competitors to develop alternative products is one thing.  To me the browser
is on it's way to becoming a part of the operating system -- something that
competitors shouldn't need to develop.  Maybe it's like wanting to develop a
different command prompt for DOS.

Do you think there's a difference between bundling and integration?

-Jim

-----Original Message-----
From: Leif Svalgaard [mailto:leif@leif.org]
Sent: Thursday, September 06, 2001 10:50 AM
To: midrange-nontech@midrange.com
Subject: Re: No Microsoft Breakup


How many things (FTP, Apache, DB2, etc) are not bundled
with OS/400? There is nothing wrong with bundling per se.
What is wrong (both in Microsoft's and IBM's case) is that
the information needed for a competitor to produce a
competing product is not generally available, that is: the
product uses APIs or knowledge about the OS internals
that is not generally available.