Tag Archives: monopolistic practices

Oracle thinks you can copyright a programming language, Google disagrees

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Google then goes on to explain that “a given set of statements or instructions may be protected, but the protection does not extend to the method of operation or system — the programming language — by which they are understood by the computer.” Google is arguing that a computer language is “inherently a utilitarian, nonprotectable means by which computers operate” and merely provides the structure, selection and organization of the software.

via Oracle thinks you can copyright a programming language, Google disagrees | The Verge.

Can Mobile Operators Create Artificial Demand for Capacity?

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This leads to a fundamental implication; are operators creating artificial demand intentionally to drive market prices up with tiered pricing and data caps, while at the same time, screaming for more spectrum allocation? The question remains, what benefits operators the most, building out networks with extensive capital spending, or making more profits on the demand and supply curve?

via Can Mobile Operators Create Artificial Demand for Capacity?.

Corporations Tend to Think Short-Term

Large corporations are notoriously short-sighted when it comes to, not only predicting, but acting on, consumer demand for the long-term. Since they are coupled to Wall Street fundamentals in creating short-term profits, spending for the longer term profitability usually takes a back seat. Put off today what can be worked out later for consumer demand. This is what we are seeing as network capacity demand outstrips the provider’s ability to keep up. See (The high cost of the cloud)

Keeping the Internet Competitive

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But private ownership can also have serious drawbacks. Transportation and communications services are essential inputs to a wide variety of industries. When the government helps a firm enter a transportation or communications market, it gives that firm a lasting advantage over potential competitors. If given free rein, a shrewd firm can leverage its government-supported dominance of a communications or transportation market to undermine competition and extract rents in adjacent markets that would otherwise be competitive. In the long run, this kind of rent-seeking behavior may prove dramatically more costly to consumers than would direct taxpayer support for the infrastructure.

via Keeping the Internet Competitive > Publications > National Affairs.

An Excerpt From “Killing the Competition: How the New Monopolies Are Destroying Open Markets”

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Over lunch in San Francisco, Hariharan, dapper in a stylish sport coat, starts by telling me all the reasons he loved his job, especially the opportunity to take part in sprawling, complex projects. Sure, the pace was grinding, the hours crazy. One team, he recounts, worked for 110 hours per week for nine months straight. But “everyone believed they were making something important.”

Hariharan says his attitude began to sour after Lucasfilm completed a particularly ambitious project. The very next day, he says, shaking his head, executives came in and “fired almost everyone.” These were employees who hadn’t had a day off in months. “People were running around the office,” says Hariharan, whose own job was not affected. “They were running around crying. It was a bad sight.”

via An Excerpt From “Killing the Competition: How the New Monopolies Are Destroying Open Markets”—By Barry C. Lynn (Harper’s Magazine).

This linked to article is just an excerpt but still a fascinating read.

The Five Levels of ISP Evil

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This is a serious allegation, but it’s the tip of the iceberg. I’m not sure if everyone understands the levels of sneakiness that service providers can engage in. So, while I’m no expert (as we are an ISP who doesn’t do these things), but as a broad overview, here is my quick guide to the five levels of ISP evil, and the various “opportunities to monetize customers” that we’ve passed on:

via Sonic.net CEO Blog » Blog Archive » The Five Levels of ISP Evil.