Should the Feds Do Windows?

According to Microsoft Watch (via Slashdot.org), the U.S. government is already reviewing Windows 7.

Under the terms of Microsoft’s November 2001 Justice Department settlement and final court judgment issued about a year later, a government-sanctioned “Technical Committee” has overseen Windows development. The TC is responsible for ensuring that Microsoft complies with the terms of the final judgment, investigating complaints about Microsoft abuses and regularly reporting on the company’s compliance.

Oh, this is too good. After the fiasco that was is Vista, both in how it came out and how quickly the train went off the rails, the U.S government is now watching over every step.

But maybe I’m being too much of a cynic – or not enough of one. Could it possibly be that the development cycle is so bollixed up there that government oversight couldn’t make things worse? Might the Feds actually improve Windows 7, either in how well it works or how much behind schedule it winds up? Let’s have a poll. Decide whether the government will help or hurt Microsoft’s efforts. By the time you find out if you’re wrong or right, we might all still be waiting for the new version as things move to quantum computing.

[poll id="2"]