Public Lectures by Ken Krechmer at the University of Colorado
by Ken Krechmer
Communications Standards Review
The University of Colorado International Center for Standards Research (ICSR) and Interdisciplinary Telecommunications Program (ITP) sponsored two invited public lectures April 3, 2003 in Boulder, CO by Ken Krechmer, visiting ICSR Fellow. The talks covered two topics.
Microsoft Anti-Trust Litigation - The Case for Standards
Based on the 2000 first prize winning paper "Microsoft Anti-Trust Litigation - The Case for Standards" , this lecture is updated to the final decision in the USA versus Microsoft anti-trust litigation on November 12, 2002. This legal decision requires Microsoft to avoid engaging in anti-competitive practices and requires Microsoft to disclose "no later than the last major beta test release of that Microsoft Middleware" necessary Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) to other software companies. Such disclosure is meaningless as the other software companies have no means to maintain control of the APIs after disclosure. The Microsoft monopoly has been upheld in Federal Court. Only standards can create public interfaces which change by common agreement. The use of proprietary specifications was developed in the 20th century to maintain monopolies. Now open standards may be used, where their value is understood, to maintain both competition and competitive advantage, which minimizes the potential for monopoly abuse.
Powerpoint presentation
The Principles of Open Standards
What is an "open standard" and why should we care? When Microsoft claims it offers "open standards," that may be a good reason to learn what "open standards"
means to Microsoft and what it means to the rest of us. This lecture discusses ten principles of "open standards." These ten points offer a way of rating just how
"open" a standard is and what the value of openness is for the user, equipment or system developer, or standards development organization.
Powerpoint presentation
Ken Krechmer
Communications Standards Review
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e-mail: krechmer@csrstds.com
ICSR is an interdisciplinary program at the University of Colorado to advance the theory and practice of standardization on a worldwide basis through unbiased, innovative research and education involving the engineering, business, policy, legal, economic, and social aspects of standards-related activities and products. For further information on this program, see the ICSR home page, Phone: +1 303 492 3653 Fax: +1 303 492 1112, or e-mail icsr@standardsresearch.org.
This page was last updated April 14, 2003.
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