[lug] Monopoly huh...

[Michael J. Hammel]

Thus spoke Calvin Dodge
> vast, faceless army of Linux enthusiasts who are dedicated to World Domination

Not all of us are dedicated to world domination.  Even if it is a joke, its
getting old.

> > as the ability to control pricing, etc.  The judge found that Microsoft does
> > have this power.
> 
> And so does Apple, in _its_ field.

No, it doesn't.  Apple works within the arena of the desktop computer.
That is where Microsoft has its monopoly.  The judge may have used "on
Intel" (I haven't read the ruling yet), but I'm failry certain the summary
was that Microsoft's monopoly is in a specific market and not just on a specific
platform.

> But the idea that "monopoly power over Intel systems" means "monopoly power
> over all systems" is just plain stupid. (ditto for the issue of the Channel
> Bar)

Depends on your point of view.  The majority of desktop systems are Wintel
based.  The numbers show that.  You can argue that Intel should be included
in this, but this case was about Microsofts monopoly, not Intel's (thats
being argued separately).  In my view, monopoly over Intel systems *is* a
monopoly over all systems, because Intel systems are by far the majority of
desktops, and desktops are by far the majority in the consumer computer market.
-- 
Michael J. Hammel           |    All the worlds a stage, and all the men and
The Graphics Muse           |    women merely players.
mjhammel at graphics-muse.org  |            Shakespeare, "As You Like It", II, 7
http://www.graphics-muse.com