Mourning for Microsoft
Judge Jackson decided that Microsoft has an unfair advantage in the marketplace and ordered this company to split into two (“Microsoft’s Six Fatal Errors”, U.S. AFFAIRS, June 19). At present, the United States is the only superpower in the world. This is patently unfair to other nations trying to join the global economy. Maybe we should petition the honorable judge to order America to split up into two independent countries? Johan F. Prins Johannesburg, South Africa
There will be no tears shed in this household over the breakup of Microsoft. Bill Gates managed to parlay a third-rate operating system and overdesigned software into an international empire through superior marketing, unethical business practices and ruthless stifling of any competition. If Gates were half the computer genius the media tell us he is, he’d buy a Mac. Lawrence Hartline Yokohama,Japan
Gates may appear to be gobbling up everything in sight, but as a customer I’m prepared to forgive him. He’s provided me with the means to communicate with people all over the earth. Judge Jackson should open his window on the world rather than narrowing down to what is good for just the good old U.S. of A. Rockefeller sinned but is now held in high esteem. So instead of castrating Gates, America should encourage him to venture out onto the global stage to compete with Rupert Murdoch, the brand-new American citizen intent on gobbling up most of the British national sporting events for his TV empire. If I were Jackson I’d say, “Reach out a bit, Bill, and compete with the real moguls in their bid to control world communications.” Gates might even inject some real competition into globalization. Maurice Clyde Silves, Portugal
You say, “If Microsoft had offered to give consumers a choice of browsers and give PC makers more control of software they wished to promote, the government’s case might never have been filed.” Assuming that the government is always acting in the consumer’s best interest, I can visualize a day when consumers can walk into an exclusive Mercedes dealer (more posh offices) and order a GM car (why not?) with a Honda engine (for reasons of efficiency) and Jaguar upholstery (choice handmade leather). And then insist, of course, that all these be made “compatible” (the correct IT word) with each other. If any of the manufacturers can’t accommodate any of these choices, the government can be counted on to change the “attitude” of such “arrogant” carmakers. If picky customers need to pay three times the price of a standard “bundled” car with no guarantee of compatibility, so be it. Let’s face it: but for Microsoft’s bundled products, the average nontechie consumer would have to buy so many types of software and be stuck with so many compatibility problems that he’d have remained almost computer-illiterate–as was the case when computers ran only on DOS. Shekhar Moghe Jakarta, Indonesia
I’m amazed at how the U.S. Department of Justice is reveling in destroying Microsoft. Rather than submit his company to such senseless power wielders, I suggest Bill Gates relocate his company to Hyderabad, called Cyberabad by his admirer, our state’s chief minister. India would give Gates a hero’s welcome.
T. H. Chowdary Director, Center for Telecom Management & Studies Secunderabad, India
Split Microsoft? Before Microsoft there was no standard–every PC had its own software and the maker charged plenty for it. Consumers even had to pay for Netscape’s Web browser. Bill Gates and Microsoft changed all that. Now consumers get programs at affordable prices and free on-line updates. The government always screws up; now it’s trying to kill the goose that lays the golden egg. Thanks to Microsoft, America is leading the information-technology revolution. Tsvi Golan Upplands Vasby, Sweden
The “Balkanization” of Microsoft as called for by the Feds is bad news for consumers. The tight synergy between the Microsoft operating systems and applications from Microsoft is what makes computers most usable. If the Feds want to be punitive, they should make Microsoft pay for being a monopoly and open its source code for all and sundry. Microsoft will fight its corner right to the top, which could take a number of years. By then, software and information technology will have moved on. Talat M. Basharat London,England
If Microsoft’s made a monopoly of browsers, how is it that there are more than 100 others, many of them free, that I could choose from if I wanted? The land of the free looks pretty totalitarian to an outsider. John Ticehurst Wareham, England
Does America have a penchant for shooting itself in the foot? Or, is it a death wish? First, you impeach your president for a private issue. Next, you clip the wings of a soaring company that contributes not only to your economy, but to that of the world. Jon Franklin Ramsoomair Consulting Editor, Journal of Internet Research Waterloo, Canada
The real reason Bill Gates is in his present situation is that he does what every corporate executive does: play the unpretty game that is business. Every major company in the States has lots of dirty little secrets; unfortunately for Microsoft and true modern capitalism, the Justice Department seems more focused on airing the rich successful guy’s dirty laundry than helping the American consumer. If the third branch of the U.S. government had any sense, it would get tough on Big Tobacco and soft money, subjects of much more importance than the Poor Little Rich Nerd. Alex Jennings San Diego, California
Blair’s Pride
Whoever wrote your Periscope item on Prime Minister Tony Blair (“What Happened to Super-Blair?” June 19) relied overly on the British press for a wholly negative analysis. You might have squeezed in a mention of the strongest economy in years (almost 1 million more people working since the election), record investment in health care, record literacy and numeracy standards in primary schools, real progress in Northern Ireland, a huge program of constitutional modernization and the distinct possibility that this will be the first government in many years that will go to the next election having delivered the program it promised to deliver. Alastair Campbell The Prime Minister’s Official Spokesman London, England
I’ve long held that the form of “managed government” that Tony Blair has adopted is based too much on image and too little upon the imagination. This may work for a while, but there are only so many times a used-car salesman can sell a car with no engine. Eventually the informed electorate sees through the thin veneer; that’s happening now in Britain. Nigel Hywel-Jones Bangkok, Thailand
Remembering Jack Kroll
I’m devastated! My June 19 issue fell open at the Jack Kroll obit, “A King of Infinite Space” (Transition). I thought back to the reviews, articles and everything else by Kroll that I’d seen in my 30-odd years of reading NEWSWEEK. So many, indeed, that I had reached the stage where I knew his style without having to look at the byline. Kroll was wonderful. My heartfelt sympathies go to his family. Jacqui Canning London, England
When Vin’s Not Wine
You rightly debunk the cartoon and movie myth about the Vikings’ horned helmets (“The Ancient Mariners,” SOCIETY & THE ARTS, April 17). But you uncritically accept an equally naive and persistent myth: that the Vikings named their land on the American shore after wine from grapes they came across farther south. “Vin” in Old Norse (pronounced “veen”) means not “wine” but “meadow.” In Vinland, “the Land of Meadows,” the Vikings saw plentiful grazing grounds for their cattle, confirming that they were out for not just a raid but a livelihood. Prof. Vidkunn Hveding Oslo, Norway
THE KOSOVO CONUNDRUM
What a courageous article John Barry and Evan Thomas wrote (“The Kosovo Cover-Up,” EUROPE, May 15)! At last, the facts are coming out. The authors state that when Gen. Wesley Clark dismissed the Serb claim that only 13 tanks were destroyed as “Serb disinformation,” his own staff told him that the Serb general was right. Add to this the fact that instead of finding 100,000 to a million dead in mass graves, international experts are hard pressed to find even 2,500. One wonders when the United States actually does tell the truth. On the other hand, there are 1,500 dead all over Serbia, many by supposedly outlawed “cluster bombs.” Shame. Michele Lundgren Sundbyberg, Sweden
NEWSWEEK’s excellent account of the inflated claims and pathetic results of the so-called surgical airstrikes against military targets should help put an end to the “victory through air power” myth that U.S. Air Force zealots have been promoting for the last half century. No administration and no Congress wants to explain why U.S. soldiers have been killed on foreign soil. Unfortunately, the only way to win wars is to destroy the enemy’s ability to fight: by killing, maiming or capturing his soldiers until he surrenders, not by bombing stationary targets. In World War II, the Allies had total superiority from D-Day on. Yet the German Army was able to offer stiff opposition for the next six months till they were attacked by infantry, tanks and artillery. Massive airstrikes have never won wars. Casualties are the price of winning wars. Aaron Sternfield Morges, Switzerland
NATO lied. Did “humanitarian intervention” need to take the form it did? Common sense, international law, regional stability and humanitarian considerations dictated from early 1998 on that Albania’s lawless border region with Kosovo be sealed to stem the flow of weapons to the KLA and to close down its training camps. Such humdrum foot-soldiering was rejected by NATO. Imagine the impact on Ulster if the Irish Republic had descended into anarchy, enabling the IRA to take control of border areas and establish training camps. The equivalent occurred in Albania, and was tolerated. Worse, the KLA was eventually recognized as a legitimate party to the dispute, without meeting the requirements demanded of the IRA: participate in elections, win seats, stop the armed struggle and cease trying to establish no-go areas. Yugo Kovach Twickenham, England
I found your article commendable. Being critical of the Kosovo war is no longer taboo because, far from solving the Balkan question, the Kosovo war has intensified ethnic hatred in the former Yugoslavia. Western troops are now indefinitely committed to the role of peacekeeper, while being resented by all sides. Anoush Gesarentz Brussels, Belgium
Although it is noble to open the eyes of a supreme power like America about any misgivings of its armed forces in order to help it formulate future decisions, I found your article and “findings” without merit. In a combat situation, it is impossible to find two reports giving exactly the same picture. It would be suspicious if they did. General Clark did an incredible job. For the first time a top commander was given impossible parameters to follow: no body bags, no loss of material, no ground troops and, while respecting all that, liberate Kosovo by throwing Milosevic’s forces out and make it safe for refugees to return. Where did Clark miss any of those demands? Going after the tanks was unnecessary–there was no intention to send in ground troops. Squeezing the comfort level of the Serbs by starting away from Belgrade and creeping slowly closer, then hitting hard at all the infrastructure, was a brilliant tactic. Cherif El Ayouty St-Jean Cap Ferrat, France
You say that Slobodan Milosevic “has lost every war he’s started since he began fighting his neighbors nine years ago.” So when exactly did the Yugoslav Federation commence aggressive activities against Austria, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Greece or Albania? If you can date these, then you are in a position to say Yugoslavia has started a war. However, there has been no war involving any of these nations with each other since 1945. The United Nations, United States, Britain and Western Europe (with the exception of Germany) all initially refused to recognize the Yugoslav republics of Slovenia and Croatia as independent states. It was not until Germany and the Vatican agreed to recognize these two breakaway republics as independent states that the civil wars in the former Yugoslavia erupted, from 1991. Slovenia was part of the Third Reich during World War II. Croatia was allied to Nazi Germany, and both states are predominantly Roman Catholic. This explains why Germany and the Vatican became involved–extending the power of the recently unified Germany, and the influence of Rome. Ian Munro Cardigan, Wales
