…I’ve been reading lately talk a lot about the principle of “OPM,” or “Other People’s Money.” Nobody knows this better than Bill Gates, who’s been steadily rakin’ in the OS/Windows/Office software royalties for years while the PC hardware makers’ fortunes ebb-‘n’-flow. (Anybody remember Acer, Micron, Packard Bell, or Eagle PCs?) Now his MS minions are promoting a new computer hardware format, code-named “Athens.” The Athens machine’s chock full of MS Windows-only technologies, making it either useless or cumbersome as a potential Linux box. If adopted by enough manufacturers (and their end users), Athens will send more factory-installed-software monies Bill’s way, while leaving the manufacturers themselves to compete on razor-thin profit margins to sell boxes with roughly the same features.