September 26th, 2006
"Bad idea" jeans
Sometimes the failures of American diplomacy astounds me. Apparently, the US government put pressure on the EC to go easy on Microsoft during recent debates as to whether to throw the figurative book at Microsoft for failure to complete the required documentation of interoperability protocols on time.
Who thought that was a good idea? I spent just under five years living and working in Europe, and though talking about "Europe" is a bit like talking about "Asia" as a single group, one thing was consistent pretty much everywhere I visited: the current American president, internationally, is probably the most unpopular American president in the history of the institution. Heck, the abuse was so bad while I lived there that I sometimes felt moved to defend certain policies of the administration, and I’m far from a fan of the current president.
So, if anyone else thinks it’s a good idea for the current diplomatic service to lobby on behalf of Microsoft (however much I might agree with the sentiment), don’t. Sometimes you just have to admit that your "help" is going to be about as useful as the American government giving financial backing to reformist groups in Iran.
Don’t do it.
John Carroll has delivered his opinion on ZDNet since the last millennium. Since May 2008, he is no longer a Microsoft employee. He is currently working at a unified messaging-related startup. See his full profile and disclosure of his industry affiliations.
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| 09/26/06
