What to do with Microsoft? We are in a difficult situation.  The government won't save us from Microsoft's abuse of its monopoly power.  So, what to do?  Bring the competition to them before they bring the competition to you.  How?  Attack their center of gravity:  the desktop PC and Web services.

This approach will do what thousands of venom-laced speeches railing against and bemoaning the PC and Microsoft's tactics will fail to do.  It will force them to defend their turf.  From a Big Co's perspective this is crucial — it could buy three to five years of breathing room before Microsoft attacks their markets.  How much would it cost?  My guess is $100 m.  There are about 5 companies (independent developers) right now that have the technology, the commercial smarts, and the vision to bring the war to Microsoft on the desktop.  That money plus distribution and marketing support could do the trick.

Which Big Co's should participate?  Sun.  Apple.  IBM.  Oracle. AOL.  3COM.  The Regional Bells.  Dell.  Gateway.  HP.  Sony.  Yahoo.  Will they?  Probably not.  As a result, they will see their business prospects dwindle as Microsoft moves forward.  Unfortunately, most of these players continue to adopt a centralized defensive approach to the problem.  This will have about as much hope of stopping Microsoft as the Maginot Line did in stopping the Germans in WW2. [John Robb's Radio Weblog