The land that time forgot

IMAGINE a world without Microsoft. The Windows operating system would vanish, magically, from the desktop. Computer programmers would be rid of Bill Gates and his monster. Diversity and competition would flourish, bringing joy to all. In fact, there is no need to imagine it: this more or less describes Japan—or at least the first bit does. Microsoft has struggled in Japan, especially in the back office, where clunky computers process transactions. Yet Mr Gates's absence from the world of business computing has not brought much joy. Japanese software is mostly proprietary and out of date. The poor people who write it, meanwhile, have little chance of making a fortune.