PS: Anti-Trust

It was with a sense of bemusement I found myself defending Microsoft against EU regulators.

My first DAW was a PC-Digidesign combination which worked really well until I married a girl who had a Mac. She taught me the error of my ways — on so many levels — and as quick as coupling a cable we were networking in ethernet bliss.

My love affair with Apple extends to this day, and fallout continues to affect those around me as these brushed aluminum and white machines grace the offices of those near and dear...their missing bite logo a reminder of how grateful I am to Eve for snacking on forbidden fruit.

It's nice to think, isn't it?

I choose not to use Microsoft products, and haven't for many years, because — in my professional sphere —there are usually more elegant solutions to the tasks at hand. And I notice many of my readers think similarly: Symbian, iPod, Linux running Firefox, Mozilla, Opera are just a few of the alternatives who knock on the door of TOONE GUITARS. Some smart people out there.

But the point of this essay is competition.

Microsoft chose to bundle Windows. A secretive and authoritarian approach. That's their choice. I totally respect Bill Gates for protecting his intellectual property rights. His business model is just that...his. Which is why the EU anti-trust rankles so strongly.

I don't ever want to benefit from someone's work because it was unwillingly taken from him. Because I have empathy.

I know what that would feel like, if it were me.

Just as Microsoft's success has enabled open source platforms to prosper, in response, TOONE GUITARS exists because not everyone desires a Gibson or Fender clone. My Scandinavian friends add emphasis to this point. If you're reading this it is because you can see past the momentum of the giants, it is because you are seeking a more elegant solution to the task at hand.

I'm doing just fine without "help" from bureaucrats, thank you very much.