The best answer to the Microsoft problem reminds me of the cliché about democracy — it’s the worst political system except for all the others. Breaking up Microsoft is the worst remedy for its ongoing antitrust abuses, except for all the others.
More in my Sunday column.
UPDATE
Dave Winer asks why it’s nutty to force Microsoft to sell off the browser software.
A Patent Abuse in the Drug Market
American taxpayers foot the bill when researchers did the basic research on what became a blockbuster drug for the Pharmacia Corporation. The company will make billions. The drug is too expensive for many people who need it. Taxpayers got zip.
If you’ve followed my recent comments on the patent system, you’ll be unsurprised to know that it was integral to this moral malpractice. Read all about it in this stunning and infuriating tale in today’s New York Times.