Peeping Larry

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In tech circles, opinion on Dumpstergate is mixed. Microsoft's critics were forgiving. "While what Ellison did was distasteful, the facts that were exposed were despicable," says J. Michael Washe, founder of the website http://Breakupmicrosoft.org. But many neutral parties were worried that the tech industry was stooping to new lows in skulduggery. "It's not the kind of use of resources anyone can be proud of," says Ruben Barrales, president of Joint Venture: Silicon Valley Network, a nonprofit economic-development organization.

It may nevertheless be the kind they should get used to. The Microsoft antitrust trial--where Gates was pilloried with his own e-mail--taught America not to archive e-mail. Dumpstergate's lesson is that if you're going to record data on anything as retro as paper and use anything as low tech as a Dumpster, you'd better remember to use a shredder.