Princeton Professor Disputes Microsoft Claim (washingtonpost.com)

Appel told U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly that with thousands of types of printers, monitors and other pieces of computer hardware, Microsoft and its stable of outside testers don't test every way Windows is used.

There are about 70,000 Windows applications, Appel said. The number of tests of every possible combination of those applications would be "more than the number of atoms in the universe," he said.

"It's mathematically impossible to test every possible configuration in the universe, so Microsoft tests a representative sample," Appel said.

I've thought for a long time that the problems with personal computers are largely due to these facts. They aren't helped by Microsoft keeping all of its code secret and proprietary.

I think more and more that the only solution to this is to declare Windows public domain, including its source code. It's not like Microsoft hasn't been adquately rewarded for its investment in it. It has achieved monopoly status in applications software by leveraging its stranglehold on the operating system.

In fact, the whole application of copyright law to software, instead of patent law, should be rethought. We have reached a point today where no one really needs a new computer or a new upgrade of Windows, Office or anything else. What we've got works fine in most cases. We might need new drivers for new technology, but why should we pay again and again for the same software which differs only incrementally from previous versions? This model is not only a violation of antitrust laws, it's a ripoff. The fact that if is followed by every software company doesn't make it any less outrageous.

If Microsoft's arguments for maintaining its monopoly are valid, maybe we should declare it a public utility and regulate it at state and federal levels as we do the communications and power industries.