rant about Qwest + Microsoft

Am I the only moron around that thinks it's Really STUPID -- and possibly
ILLEGAL -- for Qwest to be forcing their DSL customers to switch to use
Microsoft as their ISP??? I mean, here's one of the largest RBOCs in the
country forcing all of its accounts to switch to a company that has been
found guilty on the District Court and Appellete level of violating the
Sherman Antitrust Act. And right there in their page explaining that
"Customer Service is our Top Priority" is says "In order to switch to MSN,
you MUST be running Microsoft Windows 9x/NT/Me/XP/2k as well as Internet
Explorer". Hullo? Is anybody in Legal Land out there? Since when does the
type of service (eg., DSL) dictate that a particular operating system and
web browser be used???

I don't think people would react so innocently if Qwest announced they were
partnering with the Ku Klux Klan to help manage their personnel
administration... Microsoft is no less biased in their approaches than the
KKK is in theirs. Yet I've seen absoluely nothing in the media addressing
this perverted alliance!

I don't have a problem running Windows (I already do), but I do have a
problem being FORCED TO SWITCH, as well as adopting use of a browser that is
the target of most internet-based attacks. The purpose of the Sherman
Antitrust Act was to foster competition -- presuming that would lead to
greater choices for consumers. Would this deal be happening if Microsoft
weren't a monopoly??? Is there any coincidence that, in order to avoid
getting forced to switch to MSN, you have to disconnect your DSL service,
wait a couple of weeks, and then reconnect with another provider (over the
same wires and equipment) for a higher monthly cost? They call this CHOICE?

The biggest reason why it doesn't make sense is because OfficeWorks
customers and those running non-Windows systems don't have to switch! (At
least, not right now.)

Is anybody up to filing a class action suit against Qwest for consipiring to
aid and abet an established criminal activity? This alliance wasn't
announced until after the Appeals court rejected Microsoft's claims and
referred the case back for re-sentencing.

I wrote a letter to the State Corporation Commission about this, and got a
canned reply back saying that they do not regulate DSL service, so they
aren't the right people to complain to. (This doesn't make sense, because
they regulate the wires and equipment and everything else that Qwest does;
so why is it that a different kind of transmission service over the same
wires and equipment isn't under their purview?)

So who the heck do we complain to about this insanity?

-David Schwartz