Am I getting even more liberal in my old age, or has my iPod brainwashed me?

So for my antitrust class I am finally getting around to reading the, more or less, complete decision in US v. Microsoft, 253 F.3d 34. I recall when this decision came out in 2001, I thought it was utter garbage. I found it patently offensive that Netscape, who owed its entire existence to MS, was attempting to dictate via a lawsuit, the manner in which its benefactor provided them with their existence. (I also must note that I had substantial holdings of MS stock and, while the company I worked for tended to use the Linux kernel in their products, much of our customer base was driven by business travelers using MS products.)

Jump 6 years forward and I am writing this blog on my iBook, listening to my iPod, having checked my calendar on my iPhone, via a Firefox browser. As I run through the Court of appeals decision I'm ticking off the elements of acts one and two of the Sherman act and it makes complete sense. (BTW - I still have the MS stock, but it is worth significantly less than when the case was being heard.) The odd thing is that I wrote a defense of Apple's use of DRM on music it sells through the iTunes Music Store. So I sort of wonder if the effect is from (a) a better understanding of the law or (b) in 2001 I was brainwashed by MS and by 2007 I was brainwashed again by Apple.


Hmmmmmmmm

-Bzzzz