Microsoft Settlement

[preacher]

My home state Kansas is one of the states that had lawsuits against MS and Im hoping that we appeal because this is bullshit. I dont want MS to be broken down, that would hurt us more than help us, however I do want IE and WMP seperated from Windows. Simply put MS could add a regular file browsing utility like every other OS. Also they could allow windows update to work with browsers other than IE. Also I want MS to stop being able to force computer manufacturers to ship with Windows. It would be nice if they sold fully assembled pc's without an OS so people had a choice, or loaded with an alternative OS.

[lazygamer]

quote:Yea thats how i feel about it. TCP/A and Palldium will kill Microsoft off. Linux is moving into the Desktop faster then it was moving into the Server share 2 years ago. I also hear rumors that Red-Hats next release will be able to run Windows apps easiliy. Im not sure about this but it could be.

I guess that would be good actually, I would have even less excuses to be a windoid. Can you imagine if RH10 could run W95/W98/DOS stuff better then XP could? That would rock.

The thing about Palladium is that we know it will fail(we hope), but how long will we have to put up with it?

 

quote:In a dramatic reaction to that proposal, Microsoft Chairman and Chief Software Architect Bill Gates testified in April that the company would be forced to pull Windows from the market if that particular remedy was accepted by Kollar-Kotelly

Removing such middleware from Windows would cripple other aspects of the operating system, such as the Help program, Gates told the court. Because the proposed remedy said an unbound version of Windows must be a functional equivalent to the full operating system, minus the removed middleware, Gates said there would be no way Microsoft could satisfy the provision -- forcing the company to stop selling Windows to avoid violating the remedy. "

In other words... go ahead and remove your OS! All the game makers would suddenly switch to Mac and Linux, and maybe system requirements would go down a few hundred MHZ(if Wind0ze is a piece of shit code wise, why should Linux games have the same requirements if the code is 10 times better?). Maybe Daytek would release some Linux ADSL drivers relatively quickly. Certainly makes the Linux switch ten times easier when you know that your wind0ze is dead and everyone is moving towards Mac and Linux.  

Of course there is two possibilities.

1)MS is full of shit and will fix wind0ze, removing the middleware.

2)MS is telling the truth, in which case they are forced into bankruptcy.

Of course this will only occur if the lawsuit is won by the government. In regards to #2, I hope MS is being honest for once!  


Ok answer me this, why is the DOJ so concerned about Microsoft. DOJ is part of the Americian government, American government does not serve the people, they do not care about the people. DOJ is not attacking MS because the DOJ are "Knights in shining armor slaying the evil MS dragon", DOJ has to have their own motives. MS doesn't cause any problems for the American government, why the hell do they care?

It was the same thing with Enron, why the hell does the American government care? They are in bed with the corps, why agravate them? If CEO's want to embezzle, big deal, it doesn't harm the American government right?

Perhaps I am wrong and have lost faith in the government?

[Doctor V]

I think that the single worst thing about this settlement is the fact that M$ itself is being put in charge of making sure that M$ obeys the settlement provisions.  This means that M$ dosn't really have to follow any of the provisions in the settlement.  They will be able to interpret them, and follow them in their own way, which, works out very well for M$ considering that they have a very long history of breaking the law.  In the end this all says that:  M$ can break any law they want, and even if they do get found guilty, they get to choose the punishment that is given to them, and they are also responsible for making sure they follow that punishment.  

The American Judicial system is a total failure.

V

[jtpenrod]

quote:Ok answer me this, why is the DOJ so concerned about Microsoft. DOJ is part of the Americian government, American government does not serve the people, they do not care about the people. DOJ is not attacking MS because the DOJ are "Knights in shining armor slaying the evil MS dragon", DOJ has to have their own motives. MS doesn't cause any problems for the American government, why the hell do they care?

I've often wondered the same thing myself. Why all that fuss over whether or not Win 95 came with a browser? Here's a thought: since most PCs had Windows installed on them, what better way for the gov't to spy on the vast majority of the citizenry than to see to it that all Win systems came with "back doors"? Perhaps the whole anti-trust suit was the proverbial "offer he can't refuse"? Either Bill Gates installs those back doors, and the DOJ goes easy on him, turning the whole case into a farce, or he refuses to cooperate and the gov't puts him out of business. What about the case of the NSA keys that were discovered in a Win 2K service pack. These spyware keys were discovered when the service pack went out with the debug symbols still installed. It was claimed that this was accidental. I wonder if it wasn't "accidental on purpose". What programmer forgets to remove the debug symbols?  :eek:  

After all, most of these politicians don't give a rat's ass about "we the people", except every 2, 4, 6 years when they have to go begging for votes. And 90% of the time their campaign promises are forgotten once they're sworn in. They surely wouldn't care if Netscape lived or died either.

What did they get in return for going so easy on Microsoft.   :confused:  
______________________________________
Live Free or Die: Linux

Their fundamental design flaws are completely concealed by their superficial design flaws.

[Calum]

why are you all misunderstanding that this is all about money? the right palms have been greased, that's all. why it took this long to come to an agreement of which palms and how much grease is beyond me. maybe the whole timing thing was done for effect.

[pkd_lives]

What should not be forgotten is that there is a little good news. The points originally brought up in M$s' conviction can now be used against them. So any company that can prove it lost out due to the tactics M$ used in maintaining it's monopoly can sue for monies lost, who knows maybe M$ will loose big time - of course the courts have failed the taxpayer on this one before, and should be fully investigated for corruption.

[enigma]

you know.. i really DONT want to read the articles.. can someone sum it up in a few, quirky sentences?

[Calum]

no. if you won't read, you won't know.

just read the two register articles.