posted on the original caterwauls blog, Saturday, February 19, 2005.
Wasn't it a few years ago that the US Government threatened Microsoft under antitrust laws? And didn't that interest disappear suddenly? Then it came back and they threatened to dismantle Microsoft into 3 separate companies? They feared Microsoft had way too much power because of their monopolistic position in the computer market?
Wait, wouldn't a monopoly be a GOOD thing if a government wanted to control its people and identify where they were and what they were saying and doing and thinking and the road was headed to everyone owning a computer? And most likely to have the Windows Operating System? Isn't Windows on 98% of all computers and XP on virtually every one?
When you go to a website, and then delete or clear all your cookies, and then go back to that website some time later, and they know who you are ... er, didn't Microsoft put a unique number into your operating system under the hype that it was a GOOD thing? Then under waves of protest from the public say that they wouldn't TURN ON that unique identifying number? Or at least YOU could turn it off? And doesn't your hard drive have a unique number too?
Didn't the FBI come out with a sneaky computer spy system called 'Carnivore' a few years ago, that could read the contents of any computer it wanted through your server? Then they changed the name because it seemed too ominous and scary and 1984ish? It could see every single email you sent to whoever and every word you typed into your hard drive or internet browser? Including every password you ever used? And didn't all this happen at about the same time as Microsoft introduced Windows 98? And didn't the US hold these server companies hostage by threatening to shut them down unless they installed Carnivore into their systems without telling anyone? Without telling their customers?
Doesn't Homeland Security have the power to do anything they want without telling anyone about what they are doing? To fight terrorism? Hmm.
Isn't Microsoft starting to add things now to updates of its software without making clear to technical people exactly what those updates are or what they do? In Windows Media player some technicians have compared Media Player 9.0 with Media Player 10.0 and can't find any differences? So why the automatic update?
Would the US government and Bill Gates have made a deal to allow Microsoft to continue as one company, so long as the Justice department had access to the Windows Operating System?
I don't know ... would they?
Er ... would the US government be that sneaky? Oops, never mind, I was here in the sixties.
Wait, wouldn't a monopoly be a GOOD thing if a government wanted to control its people and identify where they were and what they were saying and doing and thinking and the road was headed to everyone owning a computer? And most likely to have the Windows Operating System? Isn't Windows on 98% of all computers and XP on virtually every one?
When you go to a website, and then delete or clear all your cookies, and then go back to that website some time later, and they know who you are ... er, didn't Microsoft put a unique number into your operating system under the hype that it was a GOOD thing? Then under waves of protest from the public say that they wouldn't TURN ON that unique identifying number? Or at least YOU could turn it off? And doesn't your hard drive have a unique number too?
Didn't the FBI come out with a sneaky computer spy system called 'Carnivore' a few years ago, that could read the contents of any computer it wanted through your server? Then they changed the name because it seemed too ominous and scary and 1984ish? It could see every single email you sent to whoever and every word you typed into your hard drive or internet browser? Including every password you ever used? And didn't all this happen at about the same time as Microsoft introduced Windows 98? And didn't the US hold these server companies hostage by threatening to shut them down unless they installed Carnivore into their systems without telling anyone? Without telling their customers?
Doesn't Homeland Security have the power to do anything they want without telling anyone about what they are doing? To fight terrorism? Hmm.
Isn't Microsoft starting to add things now to updates of its software without making clear to technical people exactly what those updates are or what they do? In Windows Media player some technicians have compared Media Player 9.0 with Media Player 10.0 and can't find any differences? So why the automatic update?
Would the US government and Bill Gates have made a deal to allow Microsoft to continue as one company, so long as the Justice department had access to the Windows Operating System?
I don't know ... would they?
Er ... would the US government be that sneaky? Oops, never mind, I was here in the sixties.
