FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Cybersource takes Microsoft Monopoly to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission

Australia -- 26th July, 2005

Microsoft's anti-competitive tactics are hurting Australian consumers to
the tune of $200 million every year. In their efforts to tilt the
playing field against more price-effective competitors, Microsoft's
monopoly costs consumers, reduces freedom of choice, undermines viable
competitors such as desktop Linux and hurts Australia's already shaky
balance of trade. 

Cybersource has outlined the problem in a whitepaper titled 'The Cost of
Software Monopoly: How Australian Consumers Lose'[1]. Cybersource is
calling on the ACCC (Australian Competition and Consumer Commission) to
level this playing field and allow competitors like ourselves to compete
against Microsoft on our merits.

"Our research has shown that the PC hardware market shows real
competition, but in the PC operating system and office productivity
areas, where Microsoft wields a monopoly -- and was found guilty of
abusing that monopoly -- innovation and price-performance has suffered,"
said Cybersource CEO Con Zymaris. "In fact, the competitive hardware
space has shown a 100-fold improvement in price-performance compared to
the software marketplace where Microsoft wields dominance."

"Australian consumers have suffered because of this lack of competition
in the desktop market. In fact, over $1 billion has been sucked out of
Australian consumer's pockets just these past 5 years alone. The vendor
deals that Microsoft has enacted are strangling competition and blocking
the progress of viable alternatives like Linux. If that's not harming
consumers in the PC market in Australia, then what is?" continued
Zymaris.

The investigation reveals the following Key Points:

1) It is near-impossible (or extremely difficult) for consumers to 
   purchase a desktop PC or laptop from a tier-1 or tier-2 computer 
   manufacturer without also having to purchase an OEM copy of 
   Microsoft Windows operating system platform.

2) The computer market is in many ways similar to the telecommunications 
   market. When one vendor has over 95% of the market, that vendor 
   should be bound by a universal service obligation to ensure that all 
   consumers can access the content, documents and data which reside on 
   that vendor's platform. Neglecting such an obligation hinders all 
   consumers and third-party developers not using that vendor's monopoly
   platform, further increasing anti-competitive pressures.

Cybersource seeks the following Remedies:

1) The first remedy that Cybersource seeks from the ACCC is that all 
   tier-1 and tier-2 vendors should be required to offer their desktop 
   and laptop products without an operating system pre-installed, that
   this choice (and corresponding price reduction) be presented to 
   consumers as broadly as the products themselves are, and that the 
   price difference between the with- and without- operating system 
   options should also be clearly and broadly presented at retail 
   outlets, on vendor marketing literature and vendor websites.

2) The second remedy that Cybersource seeks from the ACCC is that 
   Microsoft should be required to offer unfettered and unencumbered 
   access to all major content, document, data and applications formats
   which could enable interchange and interoperability between users of
   its platform and users of other alternative platforms.

"It has been established as fact[2] that Microsoft has a long history of
bullying PC vendors who have dared to introduce alternatives to
Microsoft on the desktop," continued Zymaris. "We don't know if the PC
vendors' hands are tied by invisible shackles orchestrated by Microsoft.
However, having the ACCC ensure that the 'no operating system' option is
made available is the only way of finding out - the vendors have always
been too scared to act on their own against Microsoft."

"How do we know that this move will encourage competition? In areas
where vendors do not pre-install a Microsoft operating system, for
example the server market, Linux has gained around 30% of the market and
has led to an increasingly fierce and competitive battle, as should be
the case. We want the same battle to occur on the desktop. This can only
benefit the consumer, through better products at lower prices,"
concluded Zymaris.


References:

 [1] http://www.cybersource.com.au/about/monopoly.html

 [2] http://www.usdoj.gov/atr/cases/f3800/msjudgex.htm

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About Cybersource Pty. Ltd.

Cybersource, founded in early 1991, is the second longest running open
source solutions company in the world. We have been demonstrating the better
value, security and robustness of open source technologies to our clients
since then. We also produce products like:

* The Safe Internet Computer: The Safest Way to Use the Internet.

* The Small Business Linux Server: the best value small business server
  on the market and 75% less expensive than the Microsoft alternative. 

* Datasafe: Stores copies of all your documents. Easy and direct access 
  to all past revisions.

* Cybersource TrimClient; All the advantages of a thin-client with none 
  of the disadvantages.

http://www.cybersource.com.au/

Spokesperson/Contact: Con Zymaris
Phone: +61 3 9621 2377
Email: info@cybersource.com.au

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