Sal, first of all, you said they "caught the guy who hacked the dll". Some random guy who posted it on his web page is not, by any reasonable use of the language, "the guy who hacked the dll".
Second, predatory pricing comes under antitrust law. You can say cut-throat competition is not illegal, but that's for the courts to decide. Just as it's for the courts to decide whether somebody putting some usenet post on their web site is illegal. Is Microsoft sueing DejaNews? Of course, for DOJ to investigate Microsoft is "unfair", but for Microsoft to sue some poor, naive, perhaps foolish, 22 year old is just nifty, eh? As to what is explicitly illegal and what isn't, excuse me if I don't take your word for it.
And, of course, Usenet is by no means anonymous, although it is possible to post anonymously. Just like it is here. But of course, I'm sure you'll come up with some tortured reasoning how you're right and I'm wrong. Whatever.
I know you may follow the Reg line that business ethics, like military intelligence, is oxymoronic. That's fine. You don't believe in antitrust laws, I don't believe in drug laws. I'm not particularly concerned about software piracy, in this case anyway. If Microsoft wants to do something about it, it shouldn't be spreading around office 97 CD's for $5. It was totally predictable that it would be hacked. You think that's a big ethical flaw on my part? Fine, enjoy your nike profits and don't think too hard about who makes those $180 sneakers, and where the ghetto kids get the money to pay for them.
Cheers, Dan. |
