Sir, - Your Editorial on the Microsoft anti-trust case (June 12th) says that consumers need the widest possible choice of operating systems and software at the lowest possible cost. In fact these are mutually incompatible goals. The history of computing prior to Microsoft's creation of a de facto PC standard shows that a wider choice of operating systems resulted only in more expensive software to the consumer.
In defiance of the normal rules of competition, Microsoft's monopolistic position has enabled far more consumers to experience the IT revolution than would have been possible had there been a wide range of PC operating systems. Rather than worrying about software, I would suggest that what the Irish consumer needs now is hardware at the lowest possible cost. I wonder what actions the authorities here are taking to bring down prices from their current "rip-off" levels to those available in other countries? - Yours, etc.,
Kevin O'Sullivan, Ballyraine Park, Letterkenny, Co. Donegal.