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Sun Files Suit Against Microsoft for Anti-Trust Violations
Herve writes "Sun Microsystems announced it has filed a private antitrust lawsuit against Microsoft Corporation. The suit, filed March 8, 2002 in the United States District Court in San Jose, CA., seeks remedies for the harm inflicted by Microsoft's anticompetitive behavior with respect to the Java[tm] platform and for damages resulting from Microsoft's illegal efforts to maintain and expand its monopoly power. In June 2001, the Federal Court of Appeals found Microsoft guilty of illegally abusing its monopoly power with respect to Sun and the Java platform. Sun's suit seeks to redress the competitive and economic harm caused by Microsoft's illegal acts."
I don't mean to troll here, but this is really getting boring. How long until we have all this settled once and for all, kind'a like w/ the Tobacco industry?
"In June 2001, the Federal Court of Appeals found Microsoft guilty of illegally abusing its monopoly power with respect to Sun and the Java platform."
Since Java first came out and started being a contender MS has spit at, called names, developed nasty bugs in software, and thumbed it's node at Sun. I hope that Sun gets a large settlement from MS even though I realize this will never happen.
Break up the MS pig I say. OS, Software, Gaming systems, PDA.. How many cookie jars does the fat kid need on his counter-top.
I think I need a va-k from all of the MS lawsuits and such.
If I were only smart enough to accomplish the things I dream about.. Or maybe too dumb to care.
Don't waste my time. Quote the relevant and/or interesting parts of the letter then give the URL for those of us who want to read M$FT's latest pile of marketing *&$!.
We are seeing these lawsuits because Netscape's AOL's and Sun's products are even shittier than MS's.
They realize that they cannot compete by coming up with better products. They will realize that cannot compete by out lawyering MS, either.
Now would be a good time to short SUNW.
Distribute Sun's current, binary implementation of Java Plug-in as part of Windows XP and Internet Explorer.
Stop the unlicensed distribution of Microsoft's Java Virtual Machine through separate web downloads, instead of incorporating within Windows XP and Internet Explorer, in accordance with Jan. 23, 2000 settlement agreement.
In other words seeks to undo in this Microsoft suit what it 'won' in its other Microsoft suit.
Last I heard there was no law that said that Sun could decide what Microsoft distributes with their O/S.
Essentially what Sun are demanding that the court do is to tie the distribution of Windows XP to a proprietary Sun product. Sun has consistently refused to allow other companies to extend Java in any way that Sun does not sanction. Meanwhile Sun are demanding that Microsoft be prevented from distributing their .NET CLI which competes against JVM.
Jackson's rulling is not going to be as much use to sun in the suit as many here think. Sun can bring it up at the trial, great, but Microsoft can also bring up the fact that Jackson was dismissed from the case and his 'findings of law' thrown out by the appeals court for gross procedural violations, apparent and actual bias. They can also quote from the Appeals court judges statement that the fact that Jackson describes something as a finding of fact does not make it a finding of fact.
All told I don't think that any sensible lawyer for the Plaintif would want to rely very heavily on the Jackson opinions. They are unlikely to have much weight with the judge and would be very likely to backfire in front of a jury. The appeals court rulings are much narrower.
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Garbage from miscrosoft should be posted on the microsoft web site. Not here. The only solution that will work for users and the industry in the long run is to break up microsoft into 3 parts (OS, PC apps, consumer elctronics crap). How many more companies does microsoft need to trample by illegal means before the JD wakes up? It makes me ashsmed to be a registered republican.
The parent comment is not a troll.
I think this is what happened regarding Java support in XP:
MS: Look at our Java VM isn't it cool?
SUN: It's not compatible; make it compatible or cease and desist!
MS: OK, if those are the two options we cease and desist; we're pulling it out for the launch of XP.
SUN: Boo-hoo, they called our bluff...MS actually dropped support for the JAVA VM. What now?
SUN's legal department: I know what we can do! SUE, SUE, SUE!
***Editorial***
SUN threatened legal action MS because of a non-compliant VM, so MS removes the offending VM; now SUN is bitching that there is no JAVA support in XP!
Hey SUN T.F.B.! You are putting out the wrong fire! Linux is more a threat to your existence than MS is.
-ted
It's a joke. Fucking Sun has NEVER done anything beneficial for the end consumer. MS created a better JVM than sun. It's better and much faster.
MS has done more for the consumer than Sun, Oracle, and the rest of their enemies combined.
MS does not have a monopoly. Sure the courts ruled this, but this is just politics. Companies are free to use another OS and do not have to use one MS product if they choose. I worked at one such company that did just that, everything was Linux.
The DOJ trying to force MS to open up it's code and force MS to include other companies software is just downright WRONG.
Ballmer is right, if that happens, MS should just say fuck it and quit selling Windows.
If I were MS, I would pull all offices from States suing me. Ungrateful bastards.
To see how M$'s decision to remove Java from the desktop has definitelly cut people off from innovating, read on...
Today, if I dare release a new application to be made cross-platform (i.e.: Java), I'm forced to include the Virtual Machine runtime (which is several Megabytes, and requires instalion steps beyond most normal user's abilities), and this GREATLY reduces the appeal of my application versus a competing windows-only application, even when mine can do all the Windows app can, PLUS it can run unchanged on Mac, Unix, or Mainframe machine. This is more true today with 1Ghz machines that make the overhead of a VM practically negligible.
So here we have a more innovative product, and that can do the most good for the market, and yet it cannot succeed because Microsoft did not include an up-to-date VM.
You might ask now, "what do you mean that it can do 'the most good' to the market?". By that I mean for example, that if cross-platform applications proliferate, people would be less tied to the Wintel platform and be more likely to adopt more innovative alternatives (like Mac OS/X or Linux). Note that the #1 reason cited by people who use PCs, but like Macs, is "I wish I could use a Mac but the applications I need do not run there". This statement can easily be proven to be true by realizing that by and large the Mac user base is composed of media professionals, the reason being that the Media market (i.e.: Photoshop, ProTools, etc) is the only industry that to some extent has gone through the pain of making different versions of their products for Macs and PCs. This in itself is why a VM is good for the market: It reduces developer's costs to produce products for different platforms, and gives incentives to hardware makers to make better products not tied to one particular vendor (i.e.: Intel).
Standardization is good, because ironically (and fortunatelly) opens up the ground for competition by leveling the playing field.
Yup, Microsoft should steer their customers to use non-MS technologies...
Conform to our Java or else!
Ok, Java can fuck itself.
No! You will ship Java!
No, you will fuck yourself.
We'll make the Government make you!
Welcome to the People's State of Sun Microsystems, all your copper are belong to us.