🚀 go-pugleaf

bayko@pollux.cs.uregina.ca (John  Bayko) writes:

>> Well, I don't think there's any doubt that the monopolistic practices by
>> the music and movie cartels are hurting consumers.  Whether government
>> regulation is a solution, is a different matter, of course.

> Canada, BTW, has decided that it is - there are broadcast quotas
> for "Canadian Content".

>> However, I'm sure you realize that there are some obvious and radical
>> differences between movies and software products.

>     Yes, in that it is possible to make a movie for $30, and have it
> bought by a distributer so that people can actually see it, and make
> money, because it's good (ex. "Clerks").

Isn't it possible to make software for almost nothing, and have it be
useful and good, too?  What budget did Linux, Apache, FreeBSD, Emacs or
GCC have?

I think that aspect is comparable, at least.  In fact, I think it's
is less demanding on non-intellectual resources to write software than
to make movies.

>     Personally, I think that the computer industry is open for abuse
> simply because it is so new that the 'experts' are essentially as
> clueless as the users, so a blanket statement such as "standardizing
> on a Windows platform will reduce support costs" go unchallenged,
> despite clear evidence to the contrary which shows that it prevents
> "the right platform for the right job" from being used, and typically
> vastly increases the support burden.

This is an important difference - consumers of movies don't expect to
benefit financially from it.

> The solution is not to regulate, IMO, but to wait for the industry to
> mature, at which point Microsoft will either collapse under it's own
> areas of incompetence, or become competent - either way, the core
> problem, that of bad systems being chosen blindly over good systems,
> won't continue.

So, do you think the practice of imposing playlists on radio stations
will go away when the music industry matures?  Do you think CD prices
are going to approach production costs, like it does for toasters and
TVs? 

I'm not saying government regulation is necessary, but the potential
power a software monopolist holds over its customers are staggering.
Most people who buy MS today don't even try to justify it on the grounds 
of product quality.  It's all about what everybody else has, and what
you get when you buy the box.

~kzm
-- 
If I haven't seen further, it is by standing in the footprints of giants