Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2003/09/28
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]In a message dated 9/28/03 6:38:42 PM, mlquinn.mail@earthlink.net writes: << They (and others) have worked diligently to prevent standards from being adopted. IF standards are adopted, Microsoft prefers to ignore them and come up with it's own (non-standard and undocumented) way to implement the "standard". This guarantees that it will be difficult to read or modify documents using other than Microsoft software. >> - ------------------------------------------------------------- The only way a standard outside the marketplace could be established would be for the government to do it. During this infant industry's development we're fortunate Washington didn't get permanently involved. In war government developed the computer. During the cold war government paid for the Internet as a research tool. When the wars were over, the government stepped out. The marketplace and entrepreneurs took over. And we got progress in terms of geometric leaps in power because no authority existed to contain that intellectual explosion in technology and software language versatility. At a certain point standardization had to come about in a shakeout among competitors. IBM dropped the potential of standardization into Gates's lap by not realizing the value of the microprocessor and consumer computing. Gates made the most of that IBM misstep. He held onto the ownership of his OS. He staked everything on software. IBM became not only just another customer but a worldwide disseminator of Gates's OS. It was a brilliant idea. Everything since has flowed from that exploitation of someone elses mistake. Gates protected his advantage with massive mobilization of an army of skilled programmers and advanced his supremacy legally or extralegally. When he dropped the ball (GUI), (Net), he recovered it swiftly. The end justified the means. To us the Gates legacy is standardization, whether we like his brand of it or not. One this is sure: We needed it. br - -- To unsubscribe, see http://mejac.palo-alto.ca.us/leica-users/unsub.html