On 02/08/2019 04:24 PM, Ralph Mowery wrote:
It is not a true monopoly, but Microsoft and the Windows is very close
to it for the desk top computers.

Amazon is working on it too. Here's the problem I have. I'll stick with
Amazon because I'm a Linux user and a little prejudiced but the argument
is really the same.

When they first started, Amazon was mostly books and CDs. They ****ed me
off by taking an order, delaying it, and eventually canceling it when
they couldn't deliver to the point where I mostly used Barnes & Noble.

Amazon improved. Vastly. I've got Prime and get a lot of items, most of
which are delivered in two days. For me, it's not even about saving
money as much as I can't buy the stuff locally. I watch the Prime
streaming shows and listen to Prime music. Any problems I've had with
merchandise has been resolved quickly. All in all I can't say a bad word
about Amazon.

And now the catch... Should Bezos have become a billionaire? He
certainly should be well rewarded for having a vision and making it
work, but when does the reward become too much? More importantly, where
did all the money come from? I can't say they overcharge; the prices are
as good or better than anybody's. Even if they're a little higher to
offset the shipping, I've been well and truly raped by 'S&H' to complain
about a buck. The people providing the goods must be happy. They're not
exploiting Chinese peasants, at least not directly, since they're not
making sneakers or iPhones. There has to be gravy in the system someplace.

Gates is the same deal. He built on his vision and while I'm not the
biggest fan of the OS the programming tools have been excellent since
long before Windows. Still, where did all the money come from?

otoh, you have people like Richard Sackler who made billions pushing
poison and knowing exactly what he was doing as much as any skel on the
street corner. Or Madoff the crook, and Soros who profited by almost
destroying the Bank of England. I'd happily throw them to AOC to squeeze
every drop of blood she can.

As I said, I'm a little conflicted...