Bill Gates

Am I missing something, David? That's my understanding of what it is.

Am I missing something, David? That's my understanding of what it is.

Oh, that is a take right there. I think that we will debate at the end of the episode.

Oh, that is a take right there. I think that we will debate at the end of the episode.

Yeah, it exposes the difference, too, in the legal strategy of both sides, where Microsoft's strategy was to refute point by point every allegation brought against them to the point where they were trying to refute Netscape. We don't view Netscape as an existential threat to us.

Yeah, it exposes the difference, too, in the legal strategy of both sides, where Microsoft's strategy was to refute point by point every allegation brought against them to the point where they were trying to refute Netscape. We don't view Netscape as an existential threat to us.

And they should have just probably acknowledged, you know, Bill literally wrote a letter that got published, a memo saying that Netscape is a competitive threat born on the Internet. but they wanted to refute every single point and knock of an inch.

And they should have just probably acknowledged, you know, Bill literally wrote a letter that got published, a memo saying that Netscape is a competitive threat born on the Internet. but they wanted to refute every single point and knock of an inch.

Meanwhile, all David Boies and the DOJ wanted to do was destroy Microsoft's credibility so that every time they brought a witness, there were emails or there was a deposition that basically called into question Are they really telling the truth on the stand? Can they really not remember that? And it just blow by blow made Microsoft look like they were duplicitous.

Meanwhile, all David Boies and the DOJ wanted to do was destroy Microsoft's credibility so that every time they brought a witness, there were emails or there was a deposition that basically called into question Are they really telling the truth on the stand? Can they really not remember that? And it just blow by blow made Microsoft look like they were duplicitous.

And that has to leak into the company culture. That has to make you, on the one hand, feel like your government is attacking you. But on the other hand, start to question and say, why did we do this again? I thought we were just trying to make the best software. Were we trying to do something illegal and I just didn't know about it?

And that has to leak into the company culture. That has to make you, on the one hand, feel like your government is attacking you. But on the other hand, start to question and say, why did we do this again? I thought we were just trying to make the best software. Were we trying to do something illegal and I just didn't know about it?

It's worth talking about some of the other pieces of fallout. It did slow Microsoft down. There were huge amounts of protocol documentation that needed to happen. So if anyone's running a software company, you know that if your iteration times are slower and you just have permanent new drag on your development process, you are going to fall behind.

It's worth talking about some of the other pieces of fallout. It did slow Microsoft down. There were huge amounts of protocol documentation that needed to happen. So if anyone's running a software company, you know that if your iteration times are slower and you just have permanent new drag on your development process, you are going to fall behind.

And I think that was one that was felt by a lot of employees and managers who suddenly can do less with the same amount of resources that they have. There was also a bunch of private lawsuits. Sun, AOL, Real Networks. Microsoft was paying out billions of dollars in these private settlements that followed the DOJ, their civil suits.

And I think that was one that was felt by a lot of employees and managers who suddenly can do less with the same amount of resources that they have. There was also a bunch of private lawsuits. Sun, AOL, Real Networks. Microsoft was paying out billions of dollars in these private settlements that followed the DOJ, their civil suits.

Many of the state AGs for years who brought the suit together with the DOJ did not accept this reversal. And so they tried to continue independently suing Microsoft, which was painful for another five-ish years. We made it all the way to 2009 before they settled their EU version of this antitrust case. I mean, that's another, what, seven years after the reversal.

Many of the state AGs for years who brought the suit together with the DOJ did not accept this reversal. And so they tried to continue independently suing Microsoft, which was painful for another five-ish years. We made it all the way to 2009 before they settled their EU version of this antitrust case. I mean, that's another, what, seven years after the reversal.

And in May 2011, that is when the final consent decree finally expired. So basically from 1990 until 2011, 21 years of the company's life, the majority of the company's life had been spent under some sort of antitrust scrutiny or active litigation.

And in May 2011, that is when the final consent decree finally expired. So basically from 1990 until 2011, 21 years of the company's life, the majority of the company's life had been spent under some sort of antitrust scrutiny or active litigation.