FC: Dan Geer on Microsoft, 4-mo delay, and problems with so much code

[Declan McCullagh <declan () well com>]

Previous message:

"Microsoft asks for 4-mo delay before antitrust punishments 
levied"
http://www.politechbot.com/p-02962.html

*******

To: declan () well com
cc: politech () politechbot com, geer () shell TheWorld com
Subject: Re: FC: Justice Department offes details of Microsoft antitrust deal
In-reply-to: Your message of "Thu, 15 Nov 2001 19:39:51 EST."
             <5.1.0.14.0.20011115192825.02381500 () mail well com>
Date: Sat, 22 Dec 2001 22:19:16 -0500
From: Dan Geer <geer () TheWorld com>

So you remember that old joke?

  The masochist and the sadist are walking down the street.  The
  masochist says "Beat me."  The sadist says "No."

Well, here's my idea.  The remedy that Microsoft succefully avoided was
to have its code base broken up among two or more units.  However, as
we all know, the quality control cost of any system rises with the
square of the number of components.  Since Microsoft cannot charge the
usurious upgrade prices on which their revenue growth, and therefore
their shareholder value, depends without substantial feature expansion,
the component count must grow linearly (50 new features) if not
geometrically (10% new features) per unit time, the quality control
costs for them face a cost curve that becomes untenable at some point,
the only question being when not if.  Therefore, the greatest
punishment you can possibly impose on Microsoft is to forbid them to
break up their code base into integrable product lines as it marries
them to a cost curve that will kill them in due course.  Having sworn
in court, settled in camera, and committed their reputation in public
to the common argument that their code base cannot be broken up, they
will now either reverse their position or march off the cliff.

YMMV,

--dan

*******

Date: Sat, 22 Dec 2001 09:36:43 +0100
To: declan () well com
From: Peter Kaiser <kaiser () acm org>
Subject: Re: FC: Microsoft fesses up to huge security breach in Windows
  XP
Cc: kaiser () acm org
In-Reply-To: <20011221122734.A18069 () cluebot com>

> Microsoft spokesman Tom Laemmel said the flaw "slipped through" the
> company's testing process but that XP's security still is superior to
> that of previous Windows versions.
>
> "When we say Windows XP is the most secure system ever we're not saying
> it's perfect," he said.

        "No, we're saying it's the most secure system we've marketed under
        the 'Windows' brand with an 'X' designation this year.  On that
        we stand firmly committed."

It's the timing that makes the comedian.  (Note that in French the word
"comedien" means simply "actor".)

___Pete

*******




-------------------------------------------------------------------------
POLITECH -- Declan McCullagh's politics and technology mailing list
You may redistribute this message freely if you include this notice.
Declan McCullagh's photographs are at http://www.mccullagh.org/
To subscribe to Politech: http://www.politechbot.com/info/subscribe.html
This message is archived at http://www.politechbot.com/
-------------------------------------------------------------------------