Tag Archives: monopoly

Cafeteria Cable

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Cable
Providers Pressured for ‘a la Carte’ Programming

(AgapePress) – Pro-family groups are pressuring the Federal Communications Commission
(FCC) and members of Congress to force cable television providers to allow consumers
more choice when it comes to programming options.

My reasons are different from those mentioned in this article, but I’d still like
to see a la carte cable programming made available. Cable companies are regional
monopolies and should be subject to antitrust suits.

Competition would mean better service and options for customers. I’m tired of being
told which channel packages I can choose from, instead of which channels. I don’t
watch most of the channels in my basic package and there are several in larger packages
I want. Unfortunately, the larger packages cost a lot more and contain even more
“fat”. Give me “lean” cable! Let me choose which channels I
do and do not want!

Go Ralph!

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Ralph Nader to the rescue again…

Hitting
Microsoft where it hurts

Ralph Nader and the Consumer Project on Technology are asking the federal government to take on Microsoft via the pocketbook instead of the courts, by using its purchasing power to solve “security and competition” issues in the software market. In a letter sent to Office of Management and Budget Director Mitchell Daniels on Tuesday, consumer activists Nader and James Love of the CPT ask the government office to spell out exactly how much money the government spends on Microsoft technology.

“If you look at antitrust cases, they take a lot of money and they’re time consuming. Our way of thinking is it might be more efficient for the government to use its procurement policy,” Love said. “Almost nothing they’re trying to achieve in the current set of remedies is something that you couldn’t accomplish through procurement remedies.”

More M$

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The Microsoft monopoly that really matters

"Ordinary people don’t pay too much attention to software-development tools. And this is just the way Microsoft likes it. Why? Because while the world argues, debates, and even sues over Microsoft’s dominance over things like Web browsers and operating systems, it’s able to quietly control the hearts, minds, and digital tool chests of the people who create the software we use every day."