:Archives (April 09, 2003)

Wednesday April 9

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 at 07:14 PM | Comments (0)

Sheer Anarchy

Total control has been replaced by "sheer anarchy" today in Baghdad, which looks very much like the former Soviet Union did in the days surrounding the 1991 collapse of the Politburo. Photos of the masses taking down huge statutes of Saddam Hussein rival those of Lennin's statutes being torn down in Moscow. Perhaps not in hostorical significance, but certainly in emotional appeal. [washingtonpost.com]

 Posted by glenn at 10:22 AM | Comments (0)