IP: Why to worry about Passport

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

http://www.fortune.com/indexw.jhtml;jsessionid=ZF1N5EL0LUI0YQAMEHSSFFCABQQ4MIV1?column=Alsop+on+Infotech&channel=artcol.jhtml&_D%3Achannel



                                        The Monopoly Has Just Begun
                                        Insidiously, incrementally,
Microsoft is getting more and more of me. That has me worried.

                                        FORTUNE
                                        Monday, July 23, 2001
                                        By Stewart Alsop

It probably comes as no surprise to FORTUNE readers that I am worried about 
Microsoft, since I complain endlessly about the company's software.

But after the recent court decision rejecting many of Judge Thomas Penfield 
Jackson's findings, I'm really worried. The justices seem to have spent a 
lot of time thinking about how to reprimand Jackson, and very little time 
thinking about the future of computer users. Unleashed, Microsoft is going 
to ensure that its monopoly grows stronger and stronger, and as it does so, 
running Windows is going to become rougher and rougher for users, who have 
no choice but to play by Microsoft's rules.


A couple of recent experiences suggest to me that Microsoft is really 
enjoying its monopoly, and that it wants to make the most of that position. 
These experiences bode ill for the future: They both involve Passport, a 
Web-based resource Microsoft introduced long after the events that the 
government complained about in the court battle, and show just how far the 
company's reach might yet extend.


Amazon.com sent me an e-mail promotion for a digital copy of a book I 
wanted to read. The book could only be read with Microsoft Reader, software 
for viewing e-books. I decided to buy the e-book, but Microsoft forced me 
to register with its Passport service to activate Reader. The ostensible 
reason is that Microsoft keeps track of the digital rights to each copy of 
the book.


This is fine, except that in order to read the book, I had to divulge a 
bunch of personal information to Microsoft. And Passport is designed by 
Microsoft as a single central database that serves up your personal data 
whenever you use a browser to buy something from an online vendor. I like 
more control over when and to whom I offer my data, so I use a software 
program called Gator to store my data and passwords. But since I could only 
get this electronic book by registering with Passport, I registered, 
reluctantly, and gave Microsoft as little personal data as I could.

My second experience happened a couple of months later. I bought a 
Macintosh computer, and a copy of Microsoft Office 2000 for the Macintosh. 
I thought I could download a copy of MOM, as it is known, but that's not 
possible. It's too big to download, even if you have the kind of broadband 
connection we enjoy at our home, the Digital Manor. So I bought the retail 
package at Microsoft's online store and had it shipped.


Guess what? When the software arrived, I had to use Passport to register as 
a user. I was free, of course, not to register--but in that case Microsoft 
would not support the product. And heck, even if I felt like resisting, why 
bother? I'd already registered with Passport earlier, so what was the harm 
in registering again and forking over a bit more of my personal data? So I 
went ahead and used Passport to register myself as a legal and supported 
user of Microsoft Office for Macintosh.

<snip>



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