April 9, 2003
Fear & Loathing in Cyberspace
In my continuing search for interesting usages of Hunter Thompson's phrase, the first entry is Fear & Loathing in Cyberspace, an essay by BYU Professor Michael Bush. He concludes that Microsoft's commitment to so-called "open" systems belies claims that Bill Gates has improperly dominated the PC industry.
Personally, I agree with a quote the author attributes to Apple Computer's Steve Jobs:
The desktop computer industry is dead. Innovation has virtually ceased. Microsoft dominates with very little innovation. That's over. Apple lost. The desktop market has entered the dark ages, and it's going to be in the dark ages for the next 10 years, or certainly for the rest of this decade. (Wired 4.02, p102).
That was 1996, before the iMac, before digital hubs and before the MP3 revolution. Steve was wrong, but so is Bush. To say that Microsoft supports "open" systems is absurd.
Posted by glenn
Comments