The Pebble and the Avalanche

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Current Revolutions in Business and Technology

by Dr. Moshe Yudkowsky,

author of The Pebble and The Avalanche: How Taking Things Apart Creates Revolutions

 

Tue, 2008-Jan-15, 04:56

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Microsoft Can't Help But Violate Anti-Trust

The European Union is investigating Microsoft yet again for a new set of alleged anti-trust violations.

For those who didn't read the book: Microsoft's business model depends on forcing people into its ecosystem. They use their desktop operating system to sell their email programs, Internet browser software, their media players, and more importantly the support software that business purchase to interact with all these and more. Microsoft is also struggling to find ways to use their desktop operating system to grab hold of the Internet, although they haven't succeeded yet.

Since progress and innovation — the very idea of a desktop operating system, email, the Internet, and the like — all come from disaggregation into separate components, Microsoft's business model of monolithic re-unification depends on fighting innovation instead of encouraging innovation. As such, it will be no surprise to see Microsoft in court again sometime soon, explaining how they used illegal tactics to prevent innovation in computers specifically and society in general.

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