By the time you read this column the 'great' license war between Microsoft and Netscape may have been resolved. Then again, with lawsuits flying every which way during 1996, it's quite possible that a series of lawsuits between two of the leading PC software developers may require a considerable amount of time to be resolved, with the consumer end-user bearing the ultimate burden regardless of the outcome. This is because as antagonists, many firms spend a considerable amount of funds and allocate a significant amount of corporate resources attempting to make a point and win a legal issue instead of focusing upon their core business-developing software. After all, who really pays for delays in product development and legal overhead, especially when a few firms dominate the market?
In the event you are unaware of the basic argument between Microsoft and Netscape, let's review the situation. Microsoft markets two versions of its NT operating system-NT Workstation and NT Server. As you might expect, NT Server has a retail price considerably higher than NT Workstation. Netscape's Web server program can operate on either version of NT. Quite naturally, many end-users purchase NT Workstation as a platform for constructing a Web server. Unfortunately, if you read the fine print in the Microsoft license for NT Workstation, you will note that it limits the machine to ten simultaneous inbound connections. When an eleventh HTTP request arrives, you have violated the license! Whether or not Netscape encourages end-users to use Windows NT Workstation is debatable. What is not debatable is the fact that Microsoft does have a license restriction on its product, forcing end-users to use the more expensive product if they wish to support more than ten simultaneous inbound connections. It seems to me this is a question for end-users to debate with their pocketbooks rather than for two companies to fight each other.
While my personal opinion about license restrictions is unprintable, what is printable is a need for more software competition. Perhaps the new version of IBM's OS/2 will provide an economical platform without the license restrictions that require the use of NT Server to avoid being taken to court by the software police. By considering other software platforms we can attack the license war while providing a mechanism for the competitive marketplace to effect ill-conceived policies. After all, if NT Server is so much better, why can't the end-user consider using NT Workstation for 11, 12, or even 20 HTTP connections? As my Macon TV announcer would say: 'That's my opinion, what's yours?' -Gilbert Held