Slashdot Mirror
Cringely On Microsoft Settlement
sandalwood writes: "Robert X Cringley has a new article about the proposed settlement in the Microsoft antitrust case. He includes information on where to write to make your views known (the 'proposed Final Judgement' accepts comments from the public for a period of 60 days after it's been published)."
I share this FP with the /. community. Amen!
In case you can't get to writing those comments right away, you can always check out the link in my sig.
beeeeeeeeeeitches hahahahahhah suck my canker sores
FP
Cringely on Microsoft Settlement
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Comment removed based on user account deletion
Just wait for some AC to post them here.
They should have something that hurts happen to them. Like being forced to tell people all about the other OSes. Or having their prices lowered to be more fair. I mean, $300 for the full version of WindowsXP is bullshit. Everytime they try to pull their usual stunts, the government should make them tell everyone on TV what they've done, why they've done it, and how they're going to fix it.
Job? I don't have time to get a job! Who will sit around and bitch about being broke and unemployed then?
C'mon, this is so commonplace now, it's stupid. This story is exactly the same as the last microsoft story!!!
What exactly do you guys do at your jobs anyway?
A darned good idea (imho) would be to force Microsoft to publish their APIs, and restrict them from anti-competitive practices. IBM was doing this 20 years ago in the mainframe world and the European Union slapped them down hard for it.
It's mentioned in this article on gnu.org, but one of the links to the settlement details (the most important part) is broken, the new location for ibm1984ec.html is here.
o/~ Join us now and share the software
I always look forward to hearing what Cringley has to say about the state of the computer industry!
Posting AC due to paranoia 8S
/.'ers comment to the DoJ (read, take action and not just wish you could) about this it will crash and burn like a corrupt copy of Windows 95. Read the Article, it does have some instructions at on where to go from here for the commonfolk. Also, a non-partisan board is a Good Thing(tm) in this whole mess.
MSFT is lobbying HARD on this to get this settlement through cause they know they will come out smelling like roses in the end, but with the growing awareness of the language of the settlement, it seems highly unlikely that it will breeze through. If enough people like
Then again, I am just preaching to the choir on this, right?
If you want good comments on this story, just go back to the first one.
Is this legal FUD practiced by both sides of this case?
My solution? Require Microsoft to develop its own technology without outside help for 5 years. They can't acquire technology, buy companies or lease patents. See how long they last...
Strange women lying in ponds distributing swords is no basis for a system of government.
The parent to this is NOT a troll, but his comments, though valid, are useless. I am thoughouly convinced that not only do none of the slashdot editors read any of the comments posted to the stories (otherwise they woluld have to take notice to the many duplicate story postings we point out), but they don't even frequent their own site. The story duplication is getting insanely ridiculous. For every duplicate story, a good one gets rejected. How can we get THROUGH to these guys? PAY ATTENTION TO THE SITE YOU WORK FOR! God, and people want me to pay for a subscription for this???
Timothy has posted all of the stories today. Shouldn't you be in church or something?
Thought some people might wanna see one of the many related links I have scattered around from rejected stories and junk:
Rep. Ed Markey's letter to John Ashcroft (pdf) in opposition to the settlement.
This is an important warning to all slashdotters. CmdrTaco has been luring people (mainly underage males) into the slashdot compound to eat his "special taco".
You may be wondering what CmdrTaco's "special taco" is. You will be wishing that you hadn't been wondering after you finish reading his post. To make his "special taco", CmdrTaco takes a taco shell and shits on it. He then adds lettuce, jacks off on the taco, and adds a compound to make the person who eats the taco unconcious. Of course, the compound does not make the person unconcous until the taco is fully eaten. Thus CmdrTaco force feeds the taco to the unsuspecting victim.
After the victim is unconcous, he is held against his will and used for CmdrTaco's nefarious homosexual purposes. This includes shoving taco shells up the victim's ass, taco snotting, and getting JonKatz involved. Trust me, you do not want JonKatz anywhere near your unconcious body. Also, rumor has it CmdrTaco is looking for a new goatse.cx guy. Don't let it be you!!!!!
Please, if CmdrTaco offers you his "special taco", RUN LIKE HELL!!!!!!!!
Digital Divide? The only divide Linux can bridge is the crack of my ass, when I use it to wipe my ass clean.
o3 one
o3 two
Wildcard
The battle of the o3s continue, which is better one or two, the loser wins a framed enlargement of goatse.cx
AND FUCK Xeyes users
I spoke with Uncle Isaac on several occasions regarding his favorite stock pick, MSFT. He explained that from day one, he knew that Microsoft was one of the most nimble companies that ever existed. Pointing out their rapid turnaround in the browser wars and in internet integration, he said that with billg at the helm, Microsoft would always prosper.
"What about .Net," I asked. "Do you really expect that thing to
succeed?"
".Net will put Microsoft in a position more powerful than any other company in the nation." When I pressed for details, he explained what Microsoft was planning to do:
Passport, in fact, is going to be marketed to web site owners. Sure, personal information is sometimes fun to have, but that isn't the main attraction. Microsoft plans to offer Passport up as a system to facilitate micropayments. They are targeting the owners of the many unprofitable information sites that are being propped up by venture capital (and pathetically meager ad revenues) today. This will force users to use Passport and pay for the information they receive off the web, with Microsoft taking a cut every time. Microsoft will become the largest middleman in the world, and multinational banks will look on in envy.
As a technical matter, this isn't a very difficult thing to do, but it needs a strong, reliable company with a good name, like Microsoft, to hold it up and to fund it during tough times. Microsoft has shown itself to be willing to subsidize many unprofitable ventures (such as IE and Bob) in order to attain a stronger position in the market, so it should come as no surprise that Passport will work the same way.
And, after Passport has taken over, there will be no more need for Linux/Apache on commercial sites. Microsoft can't compete with us directly, so they will destroy our market share by making the economics favor their product. We can give them Free software but Microsoft can sell them a big profit.
We, as the open source community, need to come together to stop this plan dead in its tracks. We can't rely on our government to do it for us, so we need to innovate and find ways to stop Microsoft. Maybe a bunch of open source hackers can get together and start producing macro virii and IIS worms nonstop, so that users are more aware of the poor security afforded by Microsoft products and services. Perhaps frequent DDoS attacks on Passport-compliant web sites are in order. Or maybe something completely different. Either way, we need to do something, so that Microsoft does not use Passport to take the internet away from us.
df
I guess it was a pretty good review of the critical points of the settlement, for those of us who just want to be spoon-fed the points to complain about to the DoJ. Now, if I address only those points, will it mean as much as if I had carefully read and mulled over the entire settlement?
OPEN SOURCE PROGRAMMERS STINK
2 51 &mode=thread
Slashot admits the truth here:
http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=01/10/25/219
As we already know open source programmers stink, both at their jobs, and in general. Take RMS for instance. He can't get a job as a real programmer so he starts the FSF. He also hasn't taken a bath or shower in over 20 years making him stink in general. Living in a dark cave doesn't help either. I don't want to know what is crawling around in his hair.
I'm sure there are people at your office who are just like RMS if they can hold their jobs. You know they are close because you can smell them. You are spending hours of overtime fixing their code.
For anyone reading this post none of this is a suprise. However, slashdot is a bastion of open source programmers. That is why the code is so bad, and its the only website that you can smell over the internet because it reaks!!!!
What was suprising to me (and to you I'm sure) was that slashdot admitted in the above linked article that open source programmers stink.
I commend slashdot for admitting the brutal yet honest truth.
Digital Divide? The only divide Linux can bridge is the crack of my ass, when I use it to wipe my ass clean.
They call themselves THE FREE WORLD (=OUR WAY OF LIVING)
Merely a bunch of selfish wxnkers I would say.
Alright I was reading a couple stories and I just decided to share this little
story about the time I hit it with a Jew girl using deception and cunning. LOL.
I mean it's not real hard to act like another person or make others believe you
are.
When I was a senior in high school last year not long before my 18th birthday I
was just cruising through school. After we changed classes at the end of second
semester I got into a class with this really hot girl named Cindy who I was
sitting by in the seating chart, well I knew from the first day I was gonna try
and hit it with this girl, but I didn't think it would be nearly as complicated
as it turned out. One day in class we had to pair up and do this project (it was
history class) and it was on the Cold War, well into the convo we started
talking about those Jew Rosenberg's selling the atom bomb and I said "well what
the hell do you expect for those fucking kikes?" and she looked at me and said
"what did you just say?" and I repeated myself and she said, "You ignorant
asshole I'm Jewish," and I looked at her and said, "Well sux to be you" and
started laughing. Well we didn't talk the rest of the project, I just let her do
the work then I guess to be a dick I acted like I was scratching my arm and
pulled up the sleeve to show my Neo-Nazi tattoo to her (I am a proud and loyal
NNLR member) and she said, "I can't believe I am sitting next to a Nazi," and I
was like, "I am unfortunately not a Nazi, I missed the good old days," and
started laughing and man was she pissed.
To go on, well we went through the next few weeks barely saying anything to each
other and me and A.J. (a fellow NNLR in my class) would sometimes say some shit
to her. Well it pissed her off enough to try and get her boyfriend after me so
he came up to my table and asked me about some shit and I ended fucking him up
in the lunch room, I mean it was a weak fight with some Jew-loving soccer player
against me a pure Aryan linebacker. LOL. I ended up getting 10 days out for
drawing blood and I just cruised through that easy as hell.
When I came back I found out that sometime when I was gone she had broken up
with her boyfriend. I am not sure why, but it figures he gets his ass beat for
her and she dumps him later for something. Typical Jew. In class, she eyes me
when I sat down and didn't say anything to me, I started razzing her and was
like, "how's you boyfriend doing?" and she's like, "I am not going out with him
anymore but I am sure he's doing fine," and I said, "broke up with him after he
gets his ass beaten for you, that some kind of Hebrew thing?" and she said, "Oh
shut up you asshole, I am so tired of hearing you talk about that," and I razzed
her a little longer. Anyways, later in the month we had a project we had to do
out of class, and it had to be with my desk partner she was mad, but she's a
crazy A student and she asked me, "Well do you want to do the assignment at my
house or yours?" and I said, "Well I am not allowed to have Jews at my house"
and me and AJ started laughing, I was like, "Why don't you just do it?" and she
said, "'cause you're not getting an A for my work," so we ended up going to her
house well it's a typical Hebe home, with the 8 candle stuff and I knocked on
the door and her mom answered, "Hi, are you Luke?" and I was like, "In the
flesh," she said, "Come on in Cindy is in her room," and I looked around and saw
all this Jew stuff and I sort of scoffed, anyway I went to her room and she's
like, "Alright lets get started," and I was just looking around, "I don't think
I'll be able to concentrate in this Yid hol,e" and she's like, "Well then I'll
tell Mr. Deen that you didn't do anything," so I had to sit there and figure out
the project with her.
I wasn't really doing anything but nodding when she said something. While I was
sitting there I was scoping her and thinking what it would be like to get a
piece of Jew ass, I was thinking it the whole time I mean is there really
anything wrong with using one for sex? I mean not dating just fucking? and I
thought about that the whole time.
The night after I went home I was looking at my ceiling and thinking the whole
night on how to fuck Cindy, I was going over some ways and though well maybe
I'll be like in the movies and act like I changed and then after I fuck her,
just tell the bitch about it and break her little kick heart. LOL. I talked it
over with Tom, AJ, and Rob, they all wondered why I wanted to fuck the Jew, but
they knew she was hot and stuff. I decided to act like I didn't want to be a
NNLR anymore and have like AJ and them act like I changed in front of her. Not
to go into much detail, but it was a good plan to tap that ass.
At school the next day I went over to her and was like, "How you doing?" She
seemed a little surprised, "I'm alright," and then AJ walked by and we sorta
gave each other this fake little mean look that we made sure she noticed. She
was like, "Are you and AJ mad about something?" and I was like, "I don't know
he's a dick," she goes, "I thought you guys were good friends?" and I'm like,
"We were but the NNLR are starting to piss me off," and she's like "Is that so?"
and I'm like, "Yeah I am thinking about getting out," and she's like, "That's
good, maybe then you'll stop being such a prick." I wanted to say something but
I restrained and continued the charade.
It lasted much longer than that to her, and I'm not going to go into depth but
in the next few weeks I made it look like I had gotten out of the NNLR's and to
her I wasn't hanging out with them anymore well we had to do another project and
I was like, "Let's do it at my house" and she's like, "I thought you weren't
allowed to have Jewish people there?" I sorta gave a sad face and was like "I'm
not like that anymore," which she thought was true. That night I had to
rearrange my room take down all my party and NNLR emblems and stuff and I made a
great effort to make it look like a typical room. When she came over she was
like "Wow your house is nice," which it is since both my parents are business
workaholics and I'm like "Thanks, it's alright." Well we got into the project
and after it was done we started watching TV on the couch. We got into a deep
convo about the NNLR and I had to say some bad things that it was hard to say
and eventually when she was leaving I talked her into a date with me for
Saturday, I was gonna kiss her but I didn't really feel like pushing it since I
was hoping to get in those little kike panties this weekend anyway.
As the week went on we talked in class and stuff until she probably thought I
was a very tolerant ex-bigot that was pushed into joining the NNLR because of
bad parenting and a need for acceptance. LOL. Not bad huh?
As Saturday came along we went on our date and went to a real expensive place
and ate then we went to a movie, and we held hands and walked around the mall, I
could tell their was no way I was going to get in her pants on the first date
for some reason and I was a little pissed, but I figured it will come
eventually, the date ended that night after making plans for another and we went
into a french kiss in front of her house. She went inside and I wiped off my
mouth, damn I hated kissing the Jew, I just wanted to fuck her. LOL.
We had two more dates before anything real sexual happened and that was when we
were in my car outside her house after going to another expensive restaurant
(damn Jews) and she gave me a decent blowjob in the car. I came all in her mouth
and she swallowed every drop like a good Jew, we made plans for another date the
next weekend and I had the feeling I was finally going to fuck my Jew.
I picked her up and we went to see a movie, then after we went to eat and talk
and junk like that you gotta go through to get laid, I talked her into coming to
my house and I knew I was going to fuck her, well we got into it on the couch
and she gave me another decent blow job and again swallowed like a good Jew.
Then I got her into the bed by like fake tackling her after she stood up we
started laughing and she's like "stop it" and I undid the buttons on her shirt
and we started kissing. So much for stopping it, I got her bra off and sucked on
her tits, then got her jeans off and was about to pull off her panties and she's
like, "Stop it Luke!" and I stopped and looked up all sad faced like, "Why
what's wrong?" and she said, "I never had sex before."
I was rock hard, by the end of the sentence I had the opportunity to pop a Jew
girls cherry I started acting all nice like "Well I don't care if you're a
virgin you'll like it I promise," and she sat up and I kissed her and started
talking about never doing it and eventually I got her to lay down through some
good talking I might add and I took off her panties and finally got a glimpse of
her bush which was pretty fine I might add, I started thinking about a condom,
but then I was like are you stupid? Don't wear one, I mean she's probably not
even thinking about that, and pulled off my underwear and prepared to put it in,
then she asked about a condom and I said don't worry I'm sterile, LOL. I don't
know why she believed me but she didn't press the issue.
She looked a little scared but I wasn't really going to hurt her anyway in that
fashion 'cause I just wanted to fuck the kike bitch. I don't have a monster cock
like it seems everyone else in these stories have but I am very proud of my 7
incher and I led it to her very very tight pussy. I mean I had fucked tight
girls before but never a virgin, and I put it into her and she started like
sorta startled moaning and when I reached the hymen her face was all like all
closed up so I just rammed it in and busted the hymen, she screamed pretty loud,
but then I start inching it in and she was moaning sort of, well I continued the
pace figuring I'd fuck her again later and just went in and out till I came in
her. After I was done I looked at her and she was like all sweaty even worse
than me, and I don't know how much she enjoyed it, but she put her arm on me, I
fucked her again like 40 minutes later and this time I felt her orgasm, she
called her mom and said she was staying at a friend's, and then she fell asleep.
I laid on the bed thinking about how to show her that not only had I just used
her Jew body, but I was still a very loyal NNLR, so while she was sleeping I put
my room (which is my entire basement) like it was before that night she came for
the project, and I had my swastika flag over the bed and the Fuhrer and my SS
posters and stuff back up, and I even put my swastika screen saver on, then I
laid down next to her and dozed off.
I woke up the next morning before her when it was light and decided on another
thing to do so I left a note on the lampshade next to her all it said was
"Thanks for the easy fuck last night, I did enjoy it, when you wake up please
leave my room I don't want your Jewish bitch ass here longer than that. Claiming
NNLR 4 Life" LOL.
I sat in the living room and a little later I saw her walking on the side of our
house where the basement is onto the sidewalk to walk home and she was like
crying hard I mean like her face was so red. LOL. I loved it and the fact that
she lives a 10 minute drive from me and she had to walk all red and stuff home.
When I went to school on Monday I found out that she had asked Mr. Deen for a
new seat and talked him into it and I got to sit my AJ which was cool as hell. I
looked at her but she just sat there and didn't look back. I heard later from
friends she had to go through therapy and all this stuff and her Dad like almost
came after me with a gun when she got home that day, and I wish he would have
I'd have dropped his ass with my
why not rms? he would be "tough but fair" in enforcing msft's deal, right?
There's no 'e' in judgment
First you have the guy saying he knows someone on the inside, and getting quotes so it sounds more authoritative and authentic.
Then you have a bunch of links that really add nothing but look good.
Next, you have a bunch of opinions stated as facts. IE as an unprofitable venture?? Microsoft was giving the damn thing away from day one!
Lastly, the coup de grace, advocating virii and worms to stop MS!
Please moderators, read thru the damn thing before you automatically mod something because it looks or sounds good.
Take a look at the guy's posting history. He might be a bit of a karma whore but definitely not a troll.
When this story ran the first time I proposed that we collect all the highest ranked concerns of this community done in the "Interviews" style. I submitted it as a suggestion / story but it was rejected. I still think its a good idea, so maybe someone that concurs can suggest it as well.
Help fight continental drift.
read about it here.
I saw this today and it had a very interesting tidbit of information. In the settlement, Microsoft is valuing the software part at $840 million. Apple contends that actual cost of that software would be more like $1 million and only 5%-6% of the value of the settlement would be able to be used to buy non-Microsoft technology.
I bet that they do read the site, but they have some hidden agenda against PBS.
PBS IT Guy 1: Oh no! Slashdot linked to us again!
PBS IT Guy 2: Those bastards! The last Slashdot effect nearly killed us! What'll we do boss?
PBS IT Guy 1: We pray they realize it's a duplicate story son. We pray...
CmdrTaco: Good Evening Gentlemen etc etc etc
"I may not have morals, but I have standards."
------------
To: microsoft.atr@usdoj.gov
Subject: Micosoft Settlement
The manner in which APIs would be revealed are limiting to Microsoft's main competitor: Free and Open Source Software ("Free" defined as "without restriction" not "free of cost").
This software is created largely by individuals in informal and generally noncommercial cooperation. This is a very significant movement, and provides great potential benefits for American consumers. I think that makes such Free and Open Source Software *the* essential beneficiary of the ruling against Microsoft. This case was not a question of whether businesses were harmed by the monopoly, but rather consumers. It is essential that this pro-consumer movement be helped by the settlement. Instead they speficially discriminated against by the settlement.
Under provisions to release the API of Microsoft products, Microsoft is given discretion as to who they will release information: namely, "viable businesses", with Microsoft being able to interpret that as they wish.
I am personally involved in many projects that have the potential to benefit consumers, but are not businesses of any sort, rather a conglomeration of individual developers. I would expect that these groups will be excluded under this settlement.
Instead of this model, APIs should be made fully public. Individuals, in some manner, should be able to ask questions of Microsoft regarding these APIs, and have them answered publically. If it seems too difficult to allow any individual to ask such a question, an electronic petition process could be used instead, as long as a group of individuals can have the same weight as a commercial organization.
It is essential that the API information be made public. If it is hindered by any sort of NDA it will be *absolutely useless* to Free/Open Source software projects. We have formed a legal and social structure where we do not have the ability to keep pieces of our code private. This process must be respected by the settlement, as it forms the most serious competition for Microsoft, and is of large benefit to consumers.
It is also essential that non-commercial groups of individuals be able to access API documentation, and have questions resolved by Microsoft. In general, it is dangerous to allow Microsoft to have discretion on any aspect of this manner, as they can use that to further punish their most stringent competitors as they have done so many times in the past.
It is also dangerous to allow them discretion on security issues. While it is acceptable that they be allowed a short, private period to resolve security issues before making them public, all aspects of their systems must be made public. It is all too easy to add security aspects to nearly any portion of a system. It is even potentially a good thing that they add security at many parts of their system. However, they should not need to be private about their security measures to ensure the effectiveness of that security. The Free/Open Source communities have created large amounts of software that is secure while being open. Microsoft should do the same. This process is completely possible, and has been demonstrated over and over for as long as computer security has existed.
It will be slashdotted. So here it is.
..."
Two calls came in on the same subject in the same day this week, but from very different perspectives. The first call was from a lawyer working for the California Attorney General. He was looking for somebody like me to testify in the remedy phase of the Microsoft anti-trust case. California, as you know, is one of nine states that have chosen not to go along with the proposed anti-trust settlement between Microsoft and the U.S. Department of Justice. The nine states think Microsoft is getting off too easily. The second call came from Steve Satchell, an old friend from my InfoWorld days, who had noticed deep in the text of the proposed Microsoft/DoJ settlement that as part of the deal, there will be a three-member committee stationed at Microsoft to make sure the deal is enforced. Satch wants one of those jobs.
I think he should get the position. With a background in computer hardware and software that dates back to one of the very first nodes on the Arpanet 30 years ago, Steve Satchell knows the technology. He has worked for several big computer companies, and even designed and built his own operating systems. And from his hundreds of published computer product reviews, he knows the commercial side of the industry. He is glib and confident, too, which might come in handy while attempting to keep Microsoft honest. Sometimes there is a distinct advantage to being the first to apply for a job, so I think Satch should be a shoo-in for one of those compliance gigs. And the boy looks mighty fine in a uniform.
The job will be a challenge, that's for sure. The committee has the responsibility of settling small disputes and gathering the information needed to prosecute big ones. They are supposed to have access to ALL Microsoft source code, and their powers are sweeping. If it goes through, I only hope the court picks three tough but fair folks like Satch.
Meanwhile, there is still plenty to complain about in the text of the proposed settlement, itself.
Those who followed the case closely will remember that one of Microsoft's chief claims during the trial was that times and the nature of business have changed, and that anti-trust enforcement ought to be different today than it was when the laws were first passed in the early part of the last century. This is a fast-moving industry based on intellectual, rather than industrial, capital, goes the argument. Sure, Microsoft is on top today (and every day since it got bigger than Lotus around 1986) but, hey, that could change in a Redmond minute. This argument evidently didn't resonate with the court, though, since Microsoft was found guilty. Keep repeating to yourself: "Microsoft is guilty."
Well, Microsoft now appears to be exacting its revenge, leaning this time on the same letter of the old law to not only get a better deal, but literally to disenfranchise many of the people and organizations who feel they have been damaged by Microsoft's actions. If this deal goes through as it is written, Microsoft will emerge from the case not just unscathed, but stronger than before.
Here is what I mean. The remedies in the Proposed Final Judgement specifically protect companies in commerce -- organizations in business for profit. On the surface, that makes sense because Microsoft was found guilty of monopolistic activities against "competing" commercial software vendors like Netscape, and other commercial vendors -- computer vendors like Compaq, for example. The Department of Justice is used to working in this kind of economic world, and has done a fair job of crafting a remedy that will rein in Microsoft without causing undue harm to the rest of the commercial portion of the industry. But Microsoft's greatest single threat on the operating system front comes from Linux -- a non-commercial product -- and it faces a growing threat on the applications front from Open Source and freeware applications.
The biggest competitor to Microsoft Internet Information Server is Apache, which comes from the Apache Foundation, a not-for-profit. Apache practically rules the Net, along with Sendmail, and Perl, both of which also come from non-profits. Yet not-for-profit organizations have no rights at all under the proposed settlement. It is as though they don't even exist.
Section III(J)(2) contains some very strong language against not-for-profits. Specifically, the language says that it need not describe nor license API, Documentation, or Communications Protocols affecting authentication and authorization to companies that don't meet Microsoft's criteria as a business: "...(c) meets reasonable, objective standards established by Microsoft for certifying the authenticity and viability of its business,
So much for SAMBA and other Open Source projects that use Microsoft calls. The settlement gives Microsoft the right to effectively kill these products.
Section III(D) takes this disturbing trend even further. It deals with disclosure of information regarding the APIs for incorporating non-Microsoft "middleware." In this section, Microsoft discloses to Independent Software Vendors (ISVs), Independent Hardware Vendors (IHVs), Internet Access Providers (IAPs), Internet Content Providers (ICPs), and Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) the information needed to inter-operate with Windows at this level. Yet, when we look in the footnotes at the legal definitions for these outfits, we find the definitions specify commercial concerns only.
But wait, there's more! Under this deal, the government is shut out, too. NASA, the national laboratories, the military, the National Institute of Standards and Technology -- even the Department of Justice itself -- have no rights. It is a good thing Afghanistan is such a low-tech adversary and that B-52s don't run Windows.
I know, I know. The government buys commercial software and uses contractors who make profits. Open Source software is sold for profit by outfits like Red Hat. It is easy to argue that I am being a bit shrill here. But I know the way Microsoft thinks. They probably saw this one coming months ago and have been falling all over themselves hoping to get it through. If this language gets through, MICROSOFT WILL FIND A WAY TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF IT.
Is the Department of Justice really that stupid? Yes and no. They showed through the case little understanding of how the software business really functions. But they are also complying with the law which, as Microsoft argued, may not be quite in sync with the market realities of today. In the days of Roosevelt and Taft, when these laws were first being enforced, the idea that truly free products could become a major force in any industry -- well, it just would have seemed insane.
This is far from over, though. The nine states are still in the fight and you can be, too, by exercising your right under the Tunney Act to comment on the proposed settlement. The Tunney Act procedures require the United States to:
1. File a proposed Final Judgment and a Competitive Impact Statement (CIS) with the court.
2. Publish the proposed Final Judgment and CIS in the Federal Register.
3. Publish notice of the proposed Final Judgment in selected newspapers.
4. Accept comments from the public for a period of 60 days after the proposed Final Judgment is published in the Federal Register.
5. Publish the comments received, along with responses to them, in the Federal Register.
6. File the comments received and responses to them with the court.
Everything is mainstream now.
A few years ago, while browsing around the library downtown, I had to take a piss. As I entered the john a big beautiful all-American football hero type, about twenty-five, came out of one of the booths. I stood at the urinal looking at him out of the corner of my eye as he washed his hands. He didn't once look at me. He was "straight" and married -- and in any case I was sure I wouldn't have a chance with him.
As soon as he left I darted into the booth he'd vacated, hoping there might be a lingering smell of shit and even a seat still warm from his sturdy young ass. I found not only the smell but the shit itself. He'd forgotten to flush. And what a treasure he had left behind. Three or four beautiful specimens floated in the bowl. It apparently had been a fairly dry, constipated shit, for all were fat, stiff, and ruggedly textured. The real prize was a great feast of turd -- a nine inch gastrointestinal triumph as thick as a man's wrist.
I knelt before the bowl, inhaling the rich brown fragrance and wondered if I should obey the impulse building up inside me. I'd always been a heavy rimmer and had lapped up more than one little clump of shit, but that had been just an inevitable part of eating ass and not an end in itself. Of course I'd had jerkoff fantasies of devouring great loads of it (what rimmer hasn't), but I had never done it. Now, here I was, confronted with the most beautiful five-pound turd I'd ever feasted my eyes on, a sausage fit to star in any fantasy and one I knew to have been hatched from the asshole of the world's handsomest young stud.
Why not? I plucked it from the bowl, holding it with both hands to keep it from breaking. I lifted it to my nose. It smelled like rich, ripe limburger (horrid, but thrilling), yet had the consistency of cheddar. What is cheese anyway but milk turning to shit without the benefit of a digestive tract?
I gave it a lick and found that it tasted better then it smelled. I've found since then that shit nearly almost does.
I hesitated no longer. I shoved the fucking thing as far into my mouth as I could get it and sucked on it like a big brown cock, beating my meat like a madman. I wanted to completely engulf it and bit off a large chunk, flooding my mouth with the intense, bittersweet flavor. To my delight I found that while the water in the bowl had chilled the outside of the turd, it was still warm inside. As I chewed I discovered that it was filled with hard little bits of something I soon identified as peanuts. He hadn't chewed them carefully and they'd passed through his body virtually unchanged. I ate it greedily, sending lump after peanutty lump sliding scratchily down my throat. My only regret was the donor of this feast wasn't there to wash it down with his piss.
I soon reached a terrific climax. I caught my cum in the cupped palm of my hand and drank it down. Believe me, there is no more delightful combination of flavors than the hot sweetness of cum with the rich bitterness of shit.
Afterwards I was sorry that I hadn't made it last longer. But then I realized that I still had a lot of fun in store for me. There was still a clutch of virile turds left in the bowl. I tenderly fished them out, rolled them into my handkerchief, and stashed them in my briefcase. In the week to come I found all kinds of ways to eat the shit without bolting it right down. Once eaten it's gone forever unless you want to filch it third hand out of your own asshole. Not an unreasonable recourse in moments of desperation or simple boredom.
I stored the turds in the refrigerator when I was not using them but within a week they were all gone. The last one I held in my mouth without chewing, letting it slowly dissolve. I had liquid shit trickling down my throat for nearly four hours. I must have had six orgasms in the process.
I often think of that lovely young guy dropping solid gold out of his sweet, pink asshole every day, never knowing what joy it could, and at least once did, bring to a grateful shiteater.
Section III(J)(2) reads:
So, that does indeed seem to give MS the right to stonewall Free Software projects like Samba, but only on security APIs. However, section III (D) reads:
And "ISV" is defined in VI (I) as:
The 'or' doesn't seem to leave much room for MS to define who the section applies to.
"Even if you are on the right track, you'll get run over if you just sit there" - Will Rogers
The poster raises some interesting points. We should all write in and voice our support for making the sanctions tougher.
If you +1 this funny, -1 the parent troll, punk.
That would not be the same and carry much less weight, but an option certainly. What to do with AC's?
Help fight continental drift.
The parent post is verifiably a lie, cobbled together from press stories and tech columns.
Hey dfeldman, try having your supposed "Uncle Isaac" answer these questions:
* Where on the MS campus is the Passport group located?
* Who is the GPM of the Passport group? Who was the dev manager?
* Complete this name: Hyer B_____
I can't believe moderators fell for that stuff.
Wonderful idea there. (cough). How about we offer up something as good or better ? Private corporations dominating a space through de facto standards happen because nobody else has stepped up with a Free (as in speech) solution that's better. Some cases to take into consideration:
- 16-bit ISA took off because anyone could build to the IBM PC published spec (essentially free-as-in-beer).
- Then Microchannel flubbed it (must license from IBM).
(Unfortunate footnote -- for 32-bit slots, VESA came along, and was destroyed by Intel's PCI when they slaughtered their competition in the PC chipset market.)So instead of proposing that people DDoS Passport sites, maybe we need to make ubiquitous a better solution that's published and freely implementable. Microsoft did lose out on the browser encryption fight (shttp vs https) and SSLeay / OpenSSL provided free reference implementations that let people use encryption without having to play with the big monopolies (um, except for Verisign). We can come up with a system that delivers Passport / .NET's functionality too.
o/~ Join us now and share the software
MS had already got off with the damn anti-trust case, now those greedy bastards want to even push further.
What they are basically are doing is to kill off Apple and pay fine using their own software. it's like printing money to pay for your stuff.
This time, MS had gone way too far, they shall pay dearly for this.
kawai
Is this the "Briar Patch Remedy" which a punishment that is actually a page from Apple's long range marketing strategy!
yeah!
I think a week or two would be adequate. Although to implement it would possibly be a pain because you would need a seperate table for both for Stories and links. I could see it in a three point zero release, however.
Translation: Not this week, anyhow.
"It is a greater offense to steal men's labor, than their clothes"
Why on earth would you limit who reads/ gets to see stuff?
Librarians do not ask you fifty questions, before being able to thumb through a book on the shelf. For copyright, I thought you had to publish - make available. Now we have a law saying bugger fair use, we'll decide who is allowed to step foot into a library - as an analogy, and may not even publish at all.
The copyright laws do not specify you have to be a business to read. Such qualifying clauses are a perversion of jurisprudence, and subvert market entry to new players.
As these clauses add no value to the settlement, they should just be crossed out. If MS is worred about providing controlled access, but not to every person + dog, then start by making available to project leaders, who have bona fide intentions, prioritised by resources.
Somebody better correct - Open source DOES respect intellectual property, and they go to great lengths to avoid IP contamination. So the question - why the anti-compeditive clauses in the seattlement.
Since no one here gets the original post, I guess I've gotta say it. YHBT. YHL. HAND.
Perhaps the DOJ needs to borrow Microsoft's PR spin doctor folks.
< /cynic >
ChicagoFan
this. As you can see here, there are some things to work out.
Cringely's new article comes out every Thursday at the I, Cringely website.
::Colz Grigor
You can add an automatic link to the newest article from your Slashdot Homepage Preferences. Scroll down to the Customize Slashboxes tab and add I, Cringely.
My proposal is this: rather than having to submit a story about Cringely's latest article (as is done every week) in order for the article to receive acceptance by a Slashdot editor in order for it to become a story and receive a Slashdot forum, why not just have an automatic forum placed at the bottom of the I, Cringely slashbox? Every Thursday, a new forum is created for the new article, and there's no need to submit the story to the editors and wait until Sunday to post our comments. Kind of like the way the Slashdot Poll is handled.
--
As part of the enforcement/settlement a trust, funded by MS, should be created that's overseen by an independent board.
MS must then release all its OS source to this board. Then the board should finance Win32 API (including Active X & Direct X) ports to the other X86 OSes, such as BeOS, Linux, Sco/Caldera Unix, BSD, OS/2, Solaris, QNX, etc. So those OSes could be compatible with W32 apps without emulation (a la WINE 'n Odin)
Also MS must not be allowed to release any of its application software (Office, Works, Encarta, 'Empires', etc) untill they bring out native BeOS, OS/2, Mac & Linux ports of those apps (the Linux port must be designed for transparent recompiling to other nixes, such as Caldera Unix, Solaris 'n QNX). They must be tested by the previously mentioned trustee before release.
To avoid claims that this would make thing too complicated for stockists & retailers, make MS retail all ports of each application together in the same box - like BeOS 'retail' has both the X86 & PPC ports bundled together, or like the way Claris works had both the Mac Classic & W16 ports bundled together (with 'Mac & Windows compatible' printed on the box) or like the way the new Gobe office suite has both the BeOS, W32 & Linux ports bundled together complete with a cross port license. MS could then have 'compatible with Windows, Macintosh, OS/2, BeOS & Linux' stickers on their boxed applications, so its spelled out to the customers that they can be used with all 4 of those OSes.
I bet within a year MS would have developed a development API for itself for developing applications that transparently port them across to X86 W32, X86 OS/2, X86 BeOS, X86 Linux & the PPC Mac.
God can you imagine how Gates 'n co would react if the court came out with a judgement like this.....LOL
Read the settlement: Settlement
And then Email your thoughts to the DOJ (Subject "Microsoft Settlement")
If EVERY single person who reading Slashdot tonight actually did this, we might have a chance to sway this settlement. (Well, probably not, but it's worth a shot.)
-Russ
Me
What cunt keeps modding these guys down? The editors are getting paid to run this site, the least they can do is read it.
Don't stand for this garbage. Mod this whole thread up.
In fact, mod this message up as a way of showing you support the idea that editors should do their jobs. If you think they shouldn't, mod it down.
Note that i'm posting anonymously, so this isn't karma whoring.
"Even if you are on the right track, you'll get run over if you just sit there" - Will Rogers
Competition isn't so much from large corporations, but rather from 2 guys in a garage. Look Linux and other open source projects, they come from individual efforts.
The most dangerous guy in the world is one with computer access, and an ability to write a killer app, like the original MS basic. That is what Bill Gates is worried about.
The API's need to be available to anyone with USD $50 at a bookstore.
I thought the anti-trust legislation was enacted to ensure a balanced marketplace. Monoplies are detrimental to the marketplace so any use of monopoly power that distorts the market needs by be restrained. Hence the anti-trust legislation.
Where does free software and open source fit in the marketplace? And why should the judge show any concern over the effect that Microsoft may have on free and open source software? It seems to be outside its jurisdiction.
Not a troll - honest questions.
How does this settlement help Be's stockholders? Microsoft was FOUND GUILTY of ILLEGALLY controlling the market - resulting in Be going out of business and Microsoft having, is it $26 or $36, BILLION in the bank.
And the BIGGEST COST of some computers now is the cost of Windows. What about some penalty to be used to compensate all of us who have paid so much money to Microsoft because of this ILLEGAL monopoly?
And they used this ILLEGAL monopoly to force us all into using their desktop applications, which now cost about FOUR TIMES what the would cost if there was competition.
What about compensating everyone who has had to fork over extra cash to pay for their products?
And what about the companies that had competing products? What about compensating them?
"bring out native BeOS, OS/2, Mac & Linux ports"
Yea, make them bring out product for 2 dead OSes.
BeOS and OS/2.
I also notice that an OS MORE marketshare, FreeBSD is ignored in your proposal.
Smooth move exlax.
Cringely sez APIs are available only to viable companies, but not government or non profits, under the proposed settlement.
So what if a viable business such as RedHat or IBM reads the APIs, then modifies Apache, Samba, Linux, etc. to work well with Windoze. Of course, the GNU license would require that the source code for those changes be made available. But RedHat/IBM/whoever never published the MS API.
No problem, right?
-jimbo
XML Tools for Mac OS X
Microsoft's biggest advantage over the open source community is that they have a plan. What the open source community needs is a meta-project to plan how Linux, Apache, PHP, PostgreSQL, and Mozilla (to name some representative products) can combine to form a complete end-to-end platform.
Microsoft can and does improve the interdependent functionality of it's corresponding products (XP, IIS, C#, SQL Server, and IE) to more closely tie users into a complete platform. As soon as a developer decides that one component (e.g., IE) is superior to its competition there is an overwhelming seductive pressure to adopt the other components.
Recently, I was told to seek out and find a decent computer for my cousin for a Christmas present. After searching around, I found that Dell had the best systems.
:) When it comes to laptops, your SOL. Windows or no computer.
To make a long story short, I was told by the person taking my order that I am required to purchase a copy of Windows XP with the new system. I told him that I wasn't going to put Windows on that machine, it would be a Linux only system. The guy didn't really care. If I wanted them to pre-install a copy of Red Hat, they would charge me quite a bit. Mainly, becuase I would need to buy a higher up machine. Either way, I already own (Haven't used in years) a copy of Windows 98. Why should I buy required to buy another copy when I already own a copy (older yes, but it would work if I had to) of Windows. I am being charged $200 for a OEM version of XP. If I removed Windows XP, and install another OS, then decied to go back to XP. (Not like I would) I would have to call Dell for an authorization number. I am not sure how true it is, but it pisses me off to say the least.
I think this should be apart of the settlement as well. If I don't want an OS installed, or there custom software. I shouldn't have to pay for it. The computer comes with a few other applications that I have no choice but to pay for. Most of which, is MS products. Why do I have to pay for a copy of MS Office, when I would use Star Office if anything at all.
Thats like buying a TV (just a normal TV) and having the salesmen tell me I am required to purchase a cable hookup on the spot. I have no choice, other then not buying the TV.
Once I got the computer, its littered with stickers giving disclamiers and license numbers for all the MS products I didn't even want. On the side of the computer is a lable with the XP license number AND a warenty number. Which, I can't remove or I loose the warenty. Which, IMO, is complete BS. Don't mind me, I am just sick and tired of dealing with MS these days. I want to run something else, and keep getting backed into the wall. Yes, I could have build the computer for her. But, my family just wanted to buy it right off the bat, and not worry about fixing it them selfs. (More like me fixing it
Something seriously needs to be done.
until (succeed) try { again(); }
I suggest a new user option:
"Do not display duplicate story postings."
It leaves IE for dead in many ways.
& now that MS has dumped Netscape plugins its even more compatible. Plus it has its own mail, news 'n ICQ clients built inside it.
& it gives you the choice of SDI & MDI GUIs
only in a couple of small areas does IE do better.
But a Active X Netscape plugin is being developed as we speak, so soon Opera will be Active X plugin compatible via its netscape plugin vacility.
I admit that Opera 4 was as iffy as hell, but Opera has to be the most improved browser in the last year or so.
Here's the Opera homepage.
This is a great Opera resources FAQs & tips site.
Opera is very configurable, here's how I have it configured
Here's what it looks like without the add
Getting M$ to publish their File formats has to be a part of their punishment. Nothing less will do a thing. But there are other things that can be done to make sure M$ can't maintain a monopoly like they have ever again.
1. No bundling. Force M$ to release an OS with no executable programs with it, except for what is necessary to change configurations, or fix stuff in the base OS that breaks. (registry viewer, notepad, not much else) If you can't install a program on it and have it work, then pull it from the shelves, and M$ pays for it.
Not just that , but disallow bundling of any other M$ programs either. Get rid of office. If people want word AND excel, they can buy (and install) them seperately.
2. Make legal arrangements with OEMs null and void. Make all of them pay the same price for windows, (which is publicly published) And make windows a non-essential purchase when getting a computer. OEMs should be able to put whatever they please on a machine before it is sold (If customers don't like it , don't buy from them)
3. As was mentioned before , institute a hiring freeze for programmers. Also force them to not be allowed to buy other companies.
4. Force new versions of office programs to properly support previous file format versions. If word 2002 can't load and save a file that is understandable by word 2000 , then it's pulled from the shelves, and M$ pays for it.
5. M$ is fudging its books to look better in financial markets. stop it.
6. M$ is forbidden to mention new products that are more 3 months away from manufacture. If the program is not released within 3 months, then do something like not allow its release for a further 6 months, or a big monetary fine.
7. Bugs in M$ products will mean that they are pulled from shelves, M$ pays for them, people who have already bought them can obtain refunds.
Anyway , you get the general idea. Find out all of their behaviour that extends their monopoly, and crush it. Still allow them to make programs though.
And take their $36b in the bank too.
I'm a Canadian who would like to comment on this joke of a settlement. What can I do? Will they still accept comments from me if I'm not a US citizen?
This space left intentionally blank.
IANAUSCitizen, so this will remain a typical /. whine. Anyway, it's a huge problem that people pay for buggy software. Bugs are acceptable with OSS because the users are the beta testers. But if I pay for software, I expect that the company behind it is RESPONSIBLE for any defects. This is currently not the case with M$. You all know the joke 'if billg had a nickel for every BSOD' but in fact, it would be fair if they paid me a compensation for every notable defect I suffer. Why is M$, and the software industry in general, so special that they can just sell crap 'as is' with no warranties? More importantly, why do people accept it? Or do they just think that computers are inherently buggy?
--
The Cap is nigh. Time to get a fresh new account.
Please amend your settlement in the Microsoft case to include provisions against a vile homosexual practice known as "snotting." Snotting is a practice that is very common in the technology sector. The procedure is simple: a man sucks onto the penis of another man and then proceeds to blow the semen out his nose back onto his partner.
I have spent 13 months now as a professional crapflooder at the popular technology website Slashdot.org and I have had the misfortune to see snottings performed by many of the Slashdot editors, most notoriously one Rob "CmdrTaco" Malda. I cannot describe the disgust I experienced when I saw this pudgy, naked geek fill his mouth with another's semen, jerk his head back, and sneeze it onto his partner's face.
If Bill Gates begins to snot his consumers the same way he has screwed them all over for the past two decades, then the terrorists have already won.
Thank you for your time.
Sincerely,
J. Wipo Troll, Esq.
wipotroll@hotmail.com
J. Wipo Troll, Esq.
Crapflooder Associates
Slashdot.org
So have we learned our lesson, boys and girls? Republicans are all for big business and don't give a rats ass about open source or competition with Microsoft. Vote Democrat next time... please don't let us have another term with that retard Bush in power.
.. while I agree with the poster's opinion, the fact is, l33t hackers (or whatever) don't know anything about video. That's why they use WiMP.
If Jesus wants me it knows where to find me.
If you're reading this then you have NO excuse not to take 10 minutes and send your opinion
Yes I have! The DOJ doesn't want to hear Europeans whining.
Will somebody please gimme a Euro-link to complain to.
No, your children are not the special ones. Nor are your pets.