Amiga.org
Amiga computer related discussion => General chat about Amiga topics => Topic started by: JaXanim on March 24, 2004, 09:31:41 PM
-
For stifling competition in the European software market, the EU Court in Brussels has today fined Microsoft a mind-boggling $613million! [EDIT: Some reports say £800Million..!!]
But of course, that's just a parking ticket for M$. Think what the Amiga could do with just one tenth of that. Hmm...
Just do a News Google on Microsoft. It's everywhere.
Cheers,
JaX
-
I can see Bill now, sitting atop his massively summarised reports, the continual influx of data represented graphically on screens all around him.
During his coffee break:
Bill Gates "Hey Steve, is it me, or was there just a tiny inflexion in the incoming cash summary line?"
Steve Balmer "I dunno. Hard to say, could be an error placing the pixel. I'll talk to the developers developers developers developers about it..."
Bill "'K, Steve. You should get that stammer looked at too.."
-
I personally hope they win the appeal. they are just a easy target to jealous companies who could only wish to make as much cash as m$ do.
As for RealNetworks Inc, i doubt any serious computer user would touch their glorified trojan "RealONE" with a bargepole - instead of those b1tches moaning about m$ maybe they would like to remove all that spying crap out of they massively bloated player. if you really need to watch a .rm .ram clip/audio download "Real Alternative".
-
I think that's part of the issue on the M$ player. Why would Joe Public download anything, when Windows includes one free?
Brussels is annoyed 'cos M$ simply adds the latest musthave software into the OS rather than selling it on the open/competitive market. They and only they, can afford to do things like that.
The average pc user doesn't buy any alternative system if one's free with the kit. A bit like 'batteries included'.
I don't think they'll win this one.
JaX
-
That's nice and all, but unless they impose a fine in the billions, I doubt this'll change M$'s behavior much.
And yes, people use Microsoft's garbage because it's bundled in. The vast majority of my peers in college use all default programs because they don't know about anything else.
-
I see nothing wrong with giving the user a OS what comes with stuff they want as standard. every OS imo should contain a web browser, email client, media player etc. if these companies do not like it then tough. it is up to them to make a better product to catch the users eye instead of attacking a company out of pure jealousy and greed.
If the user has to mess around downloading software you would expect to come with the OS they are gonna be pissed off (i would be). a happy user is a paying user :-)
-
Hum, the fine is about ONE percent of M$ reserves (53 billion dollars)...
But i agree that it is a good move, in principle...
Using the same idealism that america imposed on oil companies , general motors, BELL, and Germany after the war; and imposing those monopoly rules back onto M$...
But i also suspect that it is really a defence from american `influences` on a fledgling European market.
[invest in dollars; you know it makes cents?]
-
a OS what **comes with** stuff they want
some people may argue the definition of
**comes with**
against the definition of
**unnecessarily inextricably inexplicably intertwined within**
-
Paul_Gadd wrote:
I see nothing wrong with giving the user a OS what comes with stuff they want as standard. every OS imo should contain a web browser, email client, media player etc. if these companies do not like it then tough. it is up to them to make a better product to catch the users eye instead of attacking a company out of pure jealousy and greed.
If the user has to mess around downloading software you would expect to come with the OS they are gonna be pissed off (i would be). a happy user is a paying user :-)
Dude.... you truly scare me...
I for one do *not* want a system that comes blogged down with tons of crap I'd *never* use if it wasn't there in the first place.
It's like with supermarkets nowadays. You get tied up to a store bcos when you shop *(s)mart* you get points and rebates for this or that and end up paying for stuff you never wanted and blowing more cash than you would have done in that expensive local grossery store. That store that hardly has any customers left due to the superstores just outside town which means they can no longer support the local farmers and producers so they have to shut down and end up dieing poor and lonely with the local producers soon to follow.
"a happy user is a paying user"
I totally lack words... Or no, actually I don't. I think you've totally messed that one up.
Why is the user happy in the first place? Probably bcos he/she bought a piece of SW that luckily enough did what he/she wanted it to. Your view seems to be "Hey, I'm in a good mood today. I'm gonna buy some useless junk to celebrate that!" IMO your sentence should really say "a paying user deserves to be a happy user"
Now, in the windows situation it's not exactly like that.
Yes, you get some programs that does the basic stuff you might wanna do at the exact moment you boot up your 'puter. It's not exactly how you want it, but it's not bad enough for you to go and buy something else. And therein lies the problem IMO. People, like in the supermarket scenario, end up using stuff they're not really happy with, but it seems much cheaper and more convenient so they'll never try anything else.
In fact, I think the situation we have is bloody lethal to society. What we have is a software based dictature and the world is more software each and every day.
Note 1. I can't belive I engaged in this.
Note 2. The above of course only reflects my personal opinion. Some people treat their own opinion as fact and I just wanna spell it out that I'm not like that.
Note 3. Good night :)
-
Besides, isn't all this software that is integrated in Windows the reason the virus writeres and script kiddies can attack Windows so easily. Outlook express and Internet Explorer are a good example of this. Heck, even Direct X 9 is "updated to fix security problems with direct X." Security problems in a game API?:-o
If I knew how to unistall Internet Explorer I would as I use Firefox anyway.
Just my 2 cents.
-
I dont mind a company including things in the OS like a browser, mail client, etc... Its when Microsoft integrates it into the OS so you cant remove it. That staight up sucks!. I would unistall IE in a heartbeat if the option was there.
-
@spihunter
@ottomobiehl
Good points.
Damnit, the more I think about it the more it feels like we're all crayfish lying in water in a slowly heating saucepan.
-
I personally hope they win the appeal.
Me too.
As for RealNetworks Inc, i doubt any serious computer user would touch their glorified trojan "RealONE" with a bargepole
It comes standard on many prebuilt systems, though. You just can't escape it.
Why would Joe Public download anything, when Windows includes one free?
Because Media Player is a piece of crap, and is missing millions of standard codecs? But, Joe Public is too damn LAZY to download something else.
They and only they, can afford to do things like that.
Windows costs a bundle, and MS spends billions each year on R&D, which is just cloned and copied by everyone else. Just tell me Gnome and KDE aren't clones of Explorer... bugs and all.
The vast majority of my peers in college use all default programs because they don't know about anything else.
And don't care to look for it. The most they'll do is Google for something, only to find hundreds of links to the most popular software in the industry. The rise of the Internet and online shopping means you have to practically spoon-feed alternative software to the public. Banner ads, naturally.
I see nothing wrong with giving the user a OS what comes with stuff they want as standard. every OS imo should contain a web browser, email client, media player etc. if these companies do not like it then tough. it is up to them to make a better product to catch the users eye instead of attacking a company out of pure jealousy and greed.
Windows, Internet Explorer, Outlook Express, and Media Player are all Microsoft products. Who has the right to tell them they can't sell their own products as a package? It should be noted that while it's not easy to remove these bundled products, it's very easy to disable and replace them. I don't see what the fuss is about. I'm more pissed by the fact the competition keeps failing miserably. I've been working with Firefox for a few weeks, now, and as far as I'm concerned, it's flooded with bugs and has more CSS rendering problems than both IE and Opera combined. I fail to see why all the tech mags rave about it, other than a natural tendency to support the underdog.
But i agree that it is a good move, in principle...
Why don't they go after British Telecom, instead? All my English buddies pay more for Dial-up than I pay for broadband.
I for one do *not* want a system that comes blogged down with tons of crap I'd *never* use if it wasn't there in the first place.
Then demand a cheaper, stripped-down version of Windows. So long as consumers keep quiet and keep paying, they get what they deserve. Do you really think if IBM or Amiga was in charge, things would be different? Had a look at Apple, lately?
It's like with supermarkets nowadays. You get tied up to a store bcos when you shop *(s)mart* you get points and rebates for this or that and end up paying for stuff you never wanted and blowing more cash than you would have done in that expensive local grossery store. That store that hardly has any customers left due to the superstores just outside town which means they can no longer support the local farmers and producers so they have to shut down and end up dieing poor and lonely with the local producers soon to follow.
Then don't sign up for a rewards card. Refuse to use the automatic checkout with the touchscreens. Pay cash instead of credit so they can't track what you buy and give you coupons for crap. DON'T buy the crap! Don't buy gift certificates or prepaid credit cards... etc, etc...
People are just too damn lazy to boycott, and prefer safety to freedom. No wonder American business is all going overseas, and Bush and his cronies are using terrorism as a tool to bleed the public dry. People better shape up before the US turns into the next Rome.
-
"Then demand a cheaper, stripped-down version of Windows."
If I wanted to use windows I would do something like that yes.
"So long as consumers keep quiet and keep paying, they get what they deserve."
I totally agree, it's just that *I* don't wanna have it that way but I can't escape it bcos majority has the upper hand.
"Do you really think if IBM or Amiga was in charge, things would be different?"
Yes I do. Are you saying all the presidents U.S.has had have been the same?
"Had a look at Apple, lately?"
Yes I have. I don't like it.
"Then don't sign up for a rewards card. Refuse to use the automatic checkout with the touchscreens. Pay cash instead of credit so they can't track what you buy and give you coupons for crap. DON'T buy the crap! Don't buy gift certificates or prepaid credit cards... etc, etc..."
You're describing my way of life pretty well here.
"People are just too damn lazy to boycott, and prefer safety to freedom."
Thanks for repeating what I said in slightly different words.
"No wonder American business is all going overseas, and Bush and his cronies are using terrorism as a tool to bleed the public dry. People better shape up before the US turns into the next Rome."
I wouldn't know anything business in the U.S., but get one thing straight: U.S. is hardly anywhere near the power of Rome.
-
"So long as consumers keep quiet and keep paying, they get what they deserve."
So you'd like to have to stand up for your rights as a customer every day of your life potentially, because companies do illegal (or should be illegal) things?
-
What next then?
Car manufacturers not being allowed to include factory-fitted stereos because it stifles competition from other car stereo makers?
I don't see that it's any different.
People are being too quick to jump on the "It's Microsoft... let's get them!" bandwagon, without actually thinking about what is really going on.
I hope Microsoft win.
-
StevenJGore wrote:
What next then?
Car manufacturers not being allowed to include factory-fitted stereos because it stifles competition from other car stereo makers?
I don't see that it's any different.
Oh, but there's a difference. Next time you get behind the wheel of your VW, remember that Blaupunkt make the stereo as a supplier. The seats in your Ford Focus are made by Johnson Controls and the fuel injection system is made by Bosch. The bootlid, dashboard, electrics of my Alfa Romeo are all manufactured separately by third party suppliers and assembled in the end factory.
All of the above are symbiotic relationships that benefit the car company, the supplier and the end consumer. Plus if Alpine can market a better stereo than Blaupunkt, VW can fit that one as standard and so on.
Microsoft on the other hand do everything in house. What they don't do, they buy into and eventually dissolve/assimilate. They actively seek out competition with a view to stifling it before it can even get a foothold. They have tight controls over licensing and can therefore charge what they like for the end product without having to worry about a rival's OS being better quality.
Joe Public will never change their purchasing habit because it's advantageous for us all to be using the same software. It's nice to be able to email a word document, knowing the guy on the other side of the world can read it.
The only way I can around this would be to force MS to use a standard format protocol for all documents/media etc which should be made open source. However, that effectively rules out companies being innovative with new product formats etc....
-
Microsoft on the other hand do everything in house
The Windows XP disk defragmenter tool is made by Executive Software, and I'm pretty sure that there are plenty of other components that have been "bought in" and integrated with Windows, which the general public then perceive as being a Microsoft product.
Makes me laugh when I hear people say "The windows defrag tool is rubbish, I prefer to use Diskeeper"... it's the same product! Diskeeper is still going strong though, and ins't an example of "Microsoft assimilation".
-
Dude.... you truly scare me...
:-)
Your missing what i am saying. i know Windows comes with a load of junk nobody uses, i hate that too but i am on about three Microsoft products - "Internet Explorer" "Outlook Express" "Windows Media Player" which at the end of the day Microsoft owns the products and should include what the hell they want in their OS without third parties (jealous rivals) attacking/suing at every angle.
If Microsoft loose their appeal then anyone could be the next target.
People are being too quick to jump on the "It's Microsoft... let's get them!" bandwagon
Thats normal these days - pure jealousy and greed.
-
Well guys it's happened again. $700m this time. That should keep the EU lawyers and judges on the gravy train until the next OS release. Where does the fine go? Greece? LOL what a basket case is the EU.
I see that Google OS gives the option of installing IE. Not!.
MS would win in a court of law in the US if they took the EU to court but the resulting cost of sales and reputation would be of bigger impact. The EU knows this.
LOL you can't even run an alternate browser on a Windows RT device because none of the browser makers have a version.
The fact that MS apologise, feign mistake, and play along with the insanity reminds me of something out of a Shakespearian play.
One word "Corruption."
-
Get's old listening to the nay sayers, Microsoft is a fantastic company.
The amount of money the put into hardware/software research produces some amazing products.
Of course if it was some other company they get away with it, for example Apple.
I hope they win the appeal. One get's tired of companies that can't actually win on their own merits so they turn to the court system.
Apple is probably more "evil" than MS will ever be.
I'd also watch out for Google...
-
Why do people keep on spelling Microsoft as "M$" when Apple seem to have been this of late :confused:
-
Coz Apple is cool. Free black skivvy with each MacBook. :)
To be sure I wasn't looking to start an Apple bagging session. The point is that both Apple and Google have shrink wrapped machines with OSes that don't give you a choice of browser.
IMO that means one thing. Corruption.
PS: Apple can sell millions of iPads with US 4G that doesn't even work on UK or Australian 4g networks and they get a slap on the Wrist. The answer: "you can still use Wi-Fi". But you cant use 4g. You can still install, Chrome or Firefox on Win 8(Intel) and they work.
-
What are they going to do with all that money? Right the wrongs that Microsoft did against the competition and against the people? RIGHT!
-
People are just too damn lazy to boycott, and prefer safety to freedom.
It's not laziness, it's greed. We're on a race to the bottom.
In the EU we're going through a huge scandal about processed beef products being made from horse meat. The shops say they are appalled that the manufactures mislead them and they will make sure it never happens again & that while this might increase prices we will be sure about what we're eating. Well I thought we were already sure about what we were eating, but now we need to give them more money to guarantee that.
Of course in the meantime they've profited from the price war the horse meat has allowed them to compete in.
I stopped eating beef when the CJD scare hit, so it doesn't really affect me.
I also reduced the amount of processed food I bought. It's hard to completely get rid of it as even chocolate is effectively processed. If I could get a decent supply of cocoa beans then I'd probably give it a go, because most chocolate in the UK is made using vegetable oils to reduce the price.
In the old days the millers used to add stuff to the flour to bulk it out, so it's not a new phenomenon.
-
You cannot uninstall IE in Windows.
IE's core browser technology is used in explorer/desktop and also developers make use of IEs browser functonality in their own applications to make developing web based apps quicker and easier.
Think of it like a IE datatype/OO API for DOM, browsing,parsing and developing web pages.
-
Yes you can. Not through "traditional" methods, but it can be done (not too difficult either). You have it backwards. IE uses Explorer functionality.
-
What nonsense IE has been uninstallable since Windows XP. There was a court case saying that Microsoft had to add this option....
For Windows 7 there's even an article on how to do it on the Microsoft KB. I'd take a screenshot of the Windows 7 one but I'm at work.
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-NZ/windows7/how-do-i-install-or-uninstall-internet-explorer-9
-
Does it really matter? Install Windows, download favorite browser, set browser to default :p
-
Does it really matter? Install Windows, download favorite browser, set browser to default :p
That's way too complicated...Microsoft should include all popular browsers in their Windows updates. This is anti-competitive behaviour.
-
LOL Prefer IE10 Windows 8 app version at the moment. :-)
Now if I can get a good classic 68k browser :-)
-
The core browser technology is embeded in windows, even in explorer. you may find a way to uninstall IE but its core web technology cannot be removed.
explorer itself has FTP, desktop connects to the internet for live site this core web tech is what IE also uses and all windows web technology uses.
If IE can be uninstalled it meant - great they allowed the decoupling from the core web technology.
The reason why Windows is bloated - because a 1000 different people want and need 1000 different things in an OS.
Multi user, parallel IEs, multiple versions IE, embedded IE, automated apps, automated install, automated silent install on 1000 systems, automated updates included, lite version installed, virtual OS, multiple VOS etc.
People are never happy they always want something different and you cannot please all.
Bill G quote 'it doesn't matter if their technology is better, if they dont know how to sell it'
-
The core browser technology is embeded in windows, even in explorer. you may find a way to uninstall IE but its core web technology cannot be removed.
explorer itself has FTP, desktop connects to the internet for live site this core web tech is what IE also uses and all windows web technology uses.
If IE can be uninstalled it meant - great they allowed the decoupling from the core web technology.
The reason why Windows is bloated - because a 1000 different people want and need 1000 different things in an OS.
Multi user, parallel IEs, multiple versions IE, embedded IE, automated apps, automated install, automated silent install on 1000 systems, automated updates included, lite version installed, virtual OS, multiple VOS etc.
People are never happy they always want something different and you cannot please all.
Bill G quote 'it doesn't matter if their technology is better, if they dont know how to sell it'
Yeah, little bit of urban myth going down there that stems all the way back to Windows 98 when IE WAS integrated with the Desktop, not the OS, the desktop.
Since then maybe people have confused iexplorer.exe with explorer.exe. 2 different programs doing 2 different things. The core browser technology is simply a 64 bit executable not some nefarious operating system imbedded mystery. Sure with shared DLLs but that makes perfect sense.
Not sure what you're saying about the FTP thing. Again I think iexplorer is being confused with explorer.
As to bloatware yes agree 100% on that one. But that's the reality of todays OSs. And yes agree it's a case of trying to be everything for everybody all of the time. If only it was 1000 people.
Windows 8 requires 11 GB to install, Mac Lion around 6GB, Redhat 5GB. Ubuntu 3GB. Workbench 1.3, well a 4Mb System Partition is heaps. So there's no contest there.
-
Didn't anyone commenting on this actually read upon anything relating to the fine before they started commenting? :huh:
Microsoft is not being fined for anti-competitive behavior, they are being fined for breaking an agreement they made with the EU that Microsoft themselves proposed so they would no longer be under the scrutiny of the EU.
or in other words
1) After complaints from companies in the early 00's the EU starts looking into anti-competitive behavior on Microsoft's part. Note that eh EU ACU cannot start an investigation unless it receives a complaint, it is not a political unit but a legal one.
2) Rather than facing a longer process and possible fines Microsoft makes an offer to the EU that they will set up a browser ballot in their operating systems shipped in Europe and by doing that they escape any potential actions from the EU anti-competition authorities.
3) For 14 months the company breached the contract.
4) The EU commission fines the company for a breach of contract, this is not a political move, they have to, by law.
5) Lots of whiners on some bulletin board moan about people in other countries actually fining good ol American companies, stupid foreigners do not understand technology, etc.
I presume when companies breach other contracts such as the ones they make with you, you are all fine with that ?
How about drug dealers not living up to plea bargains, that OK too?
-
Microsoft has claimed in the past that its browser is integrated into windows for technical reasons and can not be separated. Every other OS in the world can apparently separate their os from the browser but them. Its bull****.
They should be fined. They should be shut down for their constant attempts to stop anyone else from competing with them. They truly are the "evil software empire" that richard stallman and others warned against, making software that controls the user rather than the user controlling the software.
-
I personally hope they win the appeal. they are just a easy target to jealous companies who could only wish to make as much cash as m$ do.
Are you mentally challenged?
-
They should be fined. They should be shut down
Only people who are ignorant to every dirty trick they got away with since the 80s would disagree. Even the Xbox 360 CPU is a real pi$$take. Incompetent corrupt American courts should have broken their back but those tax dollars were too valuable to the deficit.
Like Al Capone going down for tax evasion the reason doesn't matter. They stifled progress and shouldn't have OS or console market built on suspect activities to make massive profits, end of discussion. My god a 1980 VIC-20 had a more advanced screen editor than MS DOS and double the filename length.
Vista and Windows 8 should have destroyed them if the US had done their duty in the 90s.
Microsoft supporter=mentally disabled.
-
Microsoft supporter=mentally disabled
Absolutely, they shut down drdos, Desqview, os2, beos and all other competition.
Whats worse than their lack of ethics is their apparently horrible products.
Its one thing if a company makes money because they make great products, but when they make money because they cram inferior products down the throats of consumers and businesses, while stifling competition from people that make far superior products? Thats just wrong, and should be illegal.
-
I don't see the issue with including a suite of software with an operating system. After all, that's pretty much what an operating system is. OSX does it, the mainstream Linux distributions do it, the major Aros distributions do it, MorphOS does it... Don't like it? Don't buy it. There are free alternatives.
If anything, Microsoft and the computer manufacturers they deal with should be sued for the ****ty OEM contracts they all agree to, and for even suggesting the idea of "secure boot". You should worry about that, not petty browser wars or god damn RealPlayer.
-
Even the Xbox 360 CPU is a real pi$$take. Incompetent corrupt American courts should have broken their back but those tax dollars were too valuable to the deficit.
Not sure why you think courts should be spending tax money arguing about the technical merits of game consoles.
COURTS FINALLY SETTLE: THE MEGADRIVE DOESN'T USE BLAST PROCESSING AFTER ALL.
EXTRA! EXTRA! THE PLAYSTATION EMOTION ENGINE IS JUST A WAY TO MARKET GAMES
-
Microsoft supporter=mentally disabled
Absolutely, they shut down drdos, Desqview, os2, beos and all other competition.
Whats worse than their lack of ethics is their apparently horrible products.
Its one thing if a company makes money because they make great products, but when they make money because they cram inferior products down the throats of consumers and businesses, while stifling competition from people that make far superior products? Thats just wrong, and should be illegal.
Mentally Disabled...
Well I'm a Microsoft Supporter! I've Worked (paid employment) in IT since 1984. I've worked (Really worked) on; Burroughs, ICL, IBM(MVS), DEC (VMS), Wang, HP-UX 9.x and 10.x, Win NT 3.51, NT 4.1, Sun(Oracle) Solaris 7,8,9,10. Win 2000, Win 2003, Win 2008, RHEL 4,5,6. My roles included Operations, Administration, Development, Systems Analysis, Unix Systems Administration, Technology Architecture, Solutions Architecture to a senior level over 6 Years. Im HP & Sun Certified, Microsoft Certified, ITiL and TOGAF Certified and obviously Mentally Certified.
In my personal life I've owned and utilised to a level of proficiency and productivity ZX81, ZX Spectrum, C64/128, Amiga 500, 2000, 4000, SCO Unix, BSD, Fedora/RH, Ubuntu 5.1,9,10, Mac System 7,8 & 9, and finally Windows 3.11, 95, 98, 2000 Pro, XP, Vista, 7 and now 8.
Ive touched heaps of other technology but not to a diligent level.
Finally, in this context I'm proud to be accused of mental disability, and not just because of the ill you speak of something beyond your ability to comprehend. If your idea of normal mental ability is a narrow minded, conspiracy theory subscribing, fatalist, dabbling in moronic high school grade peer pressure, then I'm certainly not that.
"They shut down OS2.... They cram products down our throats...." Case in point.
End Rant.
@Reiknir, The EU has a contract with Microsoft? Or there is a special law in place just for Microsoft? Which one? Does the same law apply to Google and Chrome devices? Or to Apple? This was the basis of my point BTW.
-
The average pc user doesn't buy any alternative system if one's free with the kit. A bit like 'batteries included'.
Its a common misconception that windows is free. In fact its very much NOT free! Its not free from a philosophical standpoint nor is it free from a monetary one.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bundling_of_Microsoft_Windows
Also most "alternative" operating systems are the inverse of this, free in both cases.
It would be more correct to say that the average PC user is not aware of the free alternatives , nor is he aware that they have a choice.
-
Microsoft has been a blight on the industry.
I say this as someone who spent his professional life developing software for both Windows and big iron.
-
Microsoft has claimed in the past that its browser is integrated into windows for technical reasons and can not be separated. Every other OS in the world can apparently separate their os from the browser but them. Its bull****.
They should be fined. They should be shut down for their constant attempts to stop anyone else from competing with them. They truly are the "evil software empire" that richard stallman and others warned against, making software that controls the user rather than the user controlling the software.
Apple aren't too far behind.
-
Here's the EU press release: http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_IP-13-196_en.htm
How's this line:
"Legally binding commitments reached in antitrust decisions play a very important role in our enforcement policy because they allow for rapid solutions to competition problems. Of course, such decisions require strict compliance. A failure to comply is a very serious infringement that must be sanctioned accordingly"
Rapid solutions to competition problems? And from the Spanish as well. LOL.
I feel sorry for EU guys. If the government in Aust or US tried to STEAL people's money out of their bank accounts as in Cyprus they'd be gone in a month. The middle ages returned. Perhaps they're getting ready to fund a Crusade next.
-
Here's the EU press release: http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_IP-13-196_en.htm
How's this line:
"Legally binding commitments reached in antitrust decisions play a very important role in our enforcement policy because they allow for rapid solutions to competition problems. Of course, such decisions require strict compliance. A failure to comply is a very serious infringement that must be sanctioned accordingly"
Rapid solutions to competition problems? And from the Spanish as well. LOL.
I feel sorry for EU guys. If the government in Aust or US tried to STEAL people's money out of their bank accounts as in Cyprus they'd be gone in a month. The middle ages returned. Perhaps they're getting ready to fund a Crusade next.
Look, they had agreed to do something which they later failed to do. Microsoft are so powerful they must be regulated. It is the constant erosion of regulation since the 1970s that has put the world financial system in the mess it is in.
Also your conflation of anti trust legislation and the situation in Cyprus is foolish in the extreme.
Cyprus are party of the Eurozone. As such they cannot devalue their currency to help their economy as this function is controlled by the ECB. I'm not saying I agree with it, but they see their only solution as giving large depositors a haircut in return for (likely worthless) shares in the banks.
Compare this to the US or UK who have been devaluing their currencies at an alarming rate with the net effect that the people have had money stolen out of their bank accounts. What's more they don't even have any bank shares to show for it.
So one is an upfront open approach and the other is underhand and clearly successful at pulling the wool over many people's eyes.
-
-Microsoft are so powerful they must be regulated
-..constant erosion of regulation since the 70s
-..They see their only solution as giving large depositors a haircut
-..underhand and clearly successful at pulling the wool over many people's eyes
Did you read back what you wrote?
And my separate point on the state of the EU was foolish? I might go down to the local Seven Eleven and give their takings a "haircut" (as long as I check first that the owners are rich yeah. That'll make it okay) I'll be up front and open about it..... Foolish.
-
That's way too complicated...Microsoft should include all popular browsers in their Windows updates. This is anti-competitive behaviour.
Hell why stop at browsers they should have to include full versions of linux and Macos too. Hell I think they should even have to include plan9!
-
And the associated OS stickers inside the box. You're right you know!
-
@terminillis
Everyone should have to include Plan9 :)
As for Microsoft, for all the downsides to the OS theyve also really helped to push technology with their industry leading apis. There's no-one around that can compete in terms of functionality and/or performance, which ups the anti for competitors and ultimately leads to a better experience for everyone. Some industries benefit from a ten tonne gorilla. If it wasnt MS it'd be someone else.
-
And the associated OS stickers inside the box. You're right you know!
I completely agree. And come to think of it my Ipad should have had the choice to run android!! I mean I can run chrome on it which doesn't have access to the JIT javascript core but that's ok because it's Apple right?
-
I completely agree. And come to think of it my Ipad should have had the choice to run android!! I mean I can run chrome on it which doesn't have access to the JIT javascript core but that's ok because it's Apple right?
At least you can download the alternate IE app from the iStore.
-
At least you can download the alternate IE app from the iStore.
Of course it's right next to windows media player. :x