Karl DeSaulniers wrote: > Correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't monopolys illegal?
No, monopolies per se are generally not illegal. It's unfair anti-competitive behavior that is illegal. If I decided to make beer with Brussels sprouts instead of hops, I'd probably have a legal monopoly simply because nobody else does it. As long as I don't engage in anti-competitive behavior, there's nothing to stop me from having a monopoly. There are anti-trust laws on the books in the U.S., and in a lot of European countries. They aren't universal, though. A lot of countries have government monopolies (Mexico has a monopoly on petrol, and Japan used to have a government monopoly on tobacco). Other countries allow monopolies for various reasons, like for cronies of dictators. There is no international law I know of that forbids monopolies. In fact, Adobe has a de facto monopoly with Flash, even though they haven't been convicted of any anti-trust violations I know of (unlike Microsoft). And, in fact, it's not a monopoly, because Java is very much alive and well in the RIA space. It just has a relatively small market share. Before Flash, Director/Shockwave had pretty much a monopoly on Internet RIA development. Shockwave still has a virtual monopoly on Internet 3D content, though that's being challenged by some strong newcomers. Cordially, Kerry Thompson _______________________________________________ Flashcoders mailing list [email protected] http://chattyfig.figleaf.com/mailman/listinfo/flashcoders
