Adam Lashinsky (Fortune): What’s right about Microsoft. The thing is, it’s really hard to find things that are wrong with Microsoft. Even critics agree that paying AOL Time Warner (parent of this Web site) $750 million to settle antitrust litigation related to the old browser wars is a relative non-event for Microsoft, at least from a financial perspective.
My friend Adam is surely referring only to Microsoft’s financial condition and market presence.
There’s plenty wrong with Microsoft in other respects. The company’s business practices are no more honorable than they were when it was found guilty of repeated lawbreaking. And now that the government has all but abandoned law enforcement in antitrust, the most rapacious and arrogant monopoly since Standard Oil is entirely free to do its worst.
As Adam notes, the $750 million payoff to AOL is chump change. It’s worse than that for you and me, because AOL is going to use Microsoft’s digital restrictions management software and web browser (which are merging) to help turn our PCs into Hollywood’s idea of a communications device — a one-way device where interactivity consists mostly of pressing a button that says “Buy this.”
AOL is now Time Warner. Microsoft remains Microsoft. Customers of both will regret this new alliance.
But hey, it’s great for Microsoft’s bottom line. Nothing wrong with that, eh?