Readers reply: You back Bill
Pro-Microsoft readers say Gates has nothing to apologize for, except superior products and business sense. "As a user, I was not forced into using IE when I chose a browser, " wrote Richard Desroches from Polk, Mo. "It was the most known and marketable at the time, and FREE!"
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 | Gates to senators: Microsoft isn't a monopoly |
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Greg Elsbernd wrote, "Where would we be if Microsoft didn't exist? Still typing at a command prompt locked in our local PCs, thinking that this is the best there is, but wishing something better would come along."
Others felt tricked into using Microsoft products. "Microsoft OS's are clearly inferior to others," wrote Clancy Dalebout from Portland, Ore. "The only reason I have it running at home is because I'm pretty much forced to."
"(Microsoft) looks like a schoolyard bully and its stifling of the competition consequently hurts consumers, advancement of technology and free choice within the marketplace," George Lollar wrote.
Many people conceded Microsoft's importance, while still resenting the company's control of computer software systems. "I don't want Microsoft to be 'toppled' or to stop adding features to Windows," said Alex Barry from Blacksburg, Va. "I do find their predatory leveraging tactics objectionable."
Others echoed that sentiment, arguing that it wasn't Microsoft's domination that was unfair, but the way the company achieved it. Dante Quiba wrote from Oakland, Calif.: "If they win their monopolistic stance fairly, they should be left alone. But if they win it by hook or by crook, then by all means they should be stopped. And I think it's come to this point--government has to step in."
Some people argued that a monopoly-like condition was the natural evolution of the desktop. "I do not enjoy having to train everyone I hire on every piece of software I use. The economic flexibility of having people grow up learning how to use the common software will benefit our economy more than most people realize," wrote Bruce Williams from Pasadena, Calif.
A number of writers claimed sore losers cooked up the whole controversy. "Would Sun and Oracle like to be looking down the barrel of the same gun they've so gleeful is pointed at Microsoft?" said Stephen Skubinna of Union, Wash. "What if a combination of smart strategy, luck, and market forces puts one of them where MS is now?"
Some people considered the instability of the computer market the consumer's best friend. "More good is done through constant innovation, than by dragging each other through the mud. Microsoft is just as likely as any other company to miss the next big thing in technology," Blake Schwendiman wrote. "I think the only thing we really need to fear is having another large entity (US government) directing the future of software innovation."