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Editorial Monopolies endanger personal computing The news last week that Microsoft is making a hostile takeover bid for Yahoo! raises problems for regulators. But it raises more problems for consumers and those who still believe that the word "personal" is the heart and soul of personal computers and should remain part of personal computing. Microsoft's scramble to take over Yahoo! is a direct assault on rival Google, which has excelled, and therefore prevailed, as one of the key — if not prime — World Wide Web portals. Part of Google's supremacy arises from the quality of its products. Google's search engine is so good that it has worked its way into the lexicon of American culture. We are not only able to "look up" something, but we can also "google" it. Google's Web-based mail product is user-friendly, offers a variety of features, such as a calendar, and plenty of storage. And, for some reason, Google is far less vulnerable to spam than the AT&T/Yahoo! product offered in Texas. Those who have followed business know Bill Gates, Microsoft's founder and chairman, indulged in questionable enough practices to bring antitrust scrutiny from the federal Justice Department, allegations one doesn't hear about Google. As these corporations grow larger, the challenge is to keep computing personal and responsive to consumers. Microsoft, Hewlett-Packard and Yahoo!'s track records in that regard are questionable and the power of the consumer, as PCs more and more become commodities, is reduced. The United States and Texas have antitrust legislation for a reason: Sometimes government needs to protect consumers from rapacious big businesses. The Microsoft-Yahoo! deal is one of those cases screaming for attention. E-mail
comments about this story Posted: February 7, 2008
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