"The decision eliminates the establishment of a technical committee to assess Microsoft's compliance with the agreement. In its place, a corporate compliance committee -- consisting of Microsoft board members -- will make sure Microsoft lives up to the deal, the judge said."
Gee - do ya think that a slap on the wrist would have been too harsh on Bill? And would they have gone and appealed the decision if they had?
One industry analyst put it that the punishment was "tissue thin."
Sing: "My-crow-soft, My-crow-soft, Uber Alles . . ."
posted on November 1, 2002 03:52:21 PM new
That's OK - I just got an e-mail from Walmart yesterday that they shipped my new computer with Linux operating system pre-installed.
There will be no appeal heard for my purchase.........
posted on November 1, 2002 08:22:31 PM new
at the risk of repeating myself, M$ and it's buggy, bloated, virus dripping products are unnecessary for the home user who is willing to make the switch.
gravid, here's a link to a review of your new machine:
posted on November 2, 2002 08:16:51 AM new
Unfortunately, some of us make a living off of their computer. Me, for instance. I have so many applications that run only on MicroCrap or Apple platforms that I can not get away from being under Bill's thumb. A lot of us are also in that same position and can't simply "drop" all MS applications and buy an 800Mhz Celeron-clone to pay the bills with. If I had to have a computer for just checking the email, I'd certainly take up Walmart's offer in that link above, but honestly, I just can't do it. So I'm dependant upon the goverment's Department of Justice to protect me. Instead, the DOJ is protecting and strengthening Microsoft's monopoly.
posted on November 2, 2002 09:22:23 AM new
Hey Gravid-
Check out Microsoft/Intels newest invention. It's called Palladium.
1) It's a hardware/software scheme where ALL software must have certain security enhancements built-in to the HARDWARE with security software alongside it.
2) These enhancements are NOT open source.
3) Linux will not be able to run on Palladium/Intel hardware in the near future. AMD is also likely to sign on to this plan soon.
posted on November 3, 2002 01:17:09 AM new
You can only push people so far before you find yourself being shoved in the Guilloutine looking down at a friendly little basket. perhaps Gates is too much of a nerd instead of a people person to know that. Greed seems to be the undoing of all these business people.
posted on November 3, 2002 01:01:29 PM new
M$ will continue to get away with this kind of bullying as long as the buying public allows it to, by continuing to support it's flawed products with the rationale that they "need" them.
posted on November 3, 2002 01:10:42 PM new
OK, prof: how do I run my Web Design and Multimedia~Video Studio without MicroCrap? I refuse to code an entire web site by hand in a text program, that means I need a qualified HTML program writer, Javascript Writer, CGI Writer programs that work as advertised. I use uLead MediaStudio Pro, Paint Shop Pro, and Macromedia Flash 6. I also use MS Office and both of my businesses are running on MS Access - which was a b*tch to put together, not to mention all of the forms that I designed that I use on a daily basis. How am I supposed to run those on Linux? Half the programs that I use won't even run on Apple, let alone on Linux. What's you keen solution as to how I can convert my business to a different OS platform and not crash my business? Oh! And all of those digital devices that hook up to my PC have to work as well: Digital Camera, printers, various scanners/scanning devices, Firewire support, you name it! Please give me - IN DETAIL, how I'm supposed to completely convert my business? And then, for the few minutes that I have per day and not on the RT, I have a favorite computer game or two. They sure as hell don't run on Linux! So, how am I supposed to uproot my entire livelihood and live to thwart Bill Gates??
posted on November 3, 2002 01:50:43 PM new
I'm not about to research the full depth and scope of available linux/unix apps, nor would I presume to tell you how to revamp your business.This is a place to start:
It looks like you have an enormous amount of money and time spent in configuring programs which (with the exception of flash and M$ orifice) will not run on anything but a windoze machine.
I guess you ARE well and truly scru'd, but would someone just starting out have to follow the same path? Are there NO other programs a beginning designer/author could use? Have you looked at GIMP? Adobe? WebObjects for OS X? FinalCut Pro?
