24% Yes
76% No
The Big Question is an initiative between Computer Weekly and
recruitment consultancy PSD. Each week we put the Big Question to
top IT professionals to get their take on a current talking
point.
IT professionals have strongly rejected the need for last week's
judgement against Microsoft, with a three-to-one vote against the
ruling that saw it fined £200m for failing to comply with an
earlier antitrust judgement by the European Commission, see story
page 5.
Many respondents felt that the decision, which related to
Microsoft's failure to adequately document its workgroup server
protocols to enable its rivals to build server products for the
Windows environment, went too far with its intervention into a
market economy.
"Microsoft has a clear right to withold information about its
intellectual property," said Rob Bedingfield, a support engineer at
Fidelity Investments.
Others saw the need for regulation, but felt that such action
against Microsoft was not justified.
"There should be a court to monitor, regulate and control
certain aspects of competition, but it should not have excessive
control," was one response.
A minority welcomed the EC's intervention, arguing that legal
constraints were necessary to maintain competition.
Gary Sargent, an IT programme manager, said. "I think we
certainly need courts to monitor large software houses. Microsoft
dominates its rivals and there needs to be an element of control to
keep the market fair and give up-and-coming software houses a real
chance."
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