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MS Putting the Squeeze on Alternative Audio

Posted by timothy on from the presumption-gumption dept.

renard writes: "Some interesting developments during the last two days of the Microsoft antitrust trial, as reported by AP: MS Executive Linda Averett has admitted that Internet Explorer trumps user preferences for audio playback, and explains away a failure of IE6 searches to find RealAudio sites as a "mistake by the search team." My personal favorite: an MS-internal email exchange where one employee suggests that everyone "Remember the 'embrace and extend' campaigns we've used in the past," and an MS executive admonishes that "We need to keep all of this off the airwaves." See also related stories at Yahoo, CNN, and the NYT."

11 of 441 comments (clear)

  1. Embrace and Extend? by Nept · · Score: 3, Funny

    Share and Enjoy!

    --
    "Teachers leave us kids alone ..." - Roger Waters, Pink Floyd
  2. As Nelson would Say....... by the_2nd_coming · · Score: 3, Funny

    HA HA.

    anyway.......

    my god, is it just me or do MS execs seem to just not get prosecuted for purgery?

    --



    I am the Alpha and the Omega-3
    1. Re:As Nelson would Say....... by calags · · Score: 3, Funny

      ...Purgery...??

      As far as I'm concerned MS execs can take as many laxatives as they want.

      --
      Never attribute to stupidity what can be construed as a monopoly preservation tactic.
  3. I can see how it could happen... by Eric+Damron · · Score: 5, Funny

    "It was clearly a mistake by the search team..."

    This is true. The code is very complex and mistakes can easily be made...

    if player != realplayer
    addList(player);

    It could happen...

    --
    The race isn't always to the swift... but that's the way to bet!
  4. Wishful Thinking by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny


    I wish a beautiful memeber of the opposite sex would give me an embrace and extend campaign.

  5. More power to MS!! by Mulletproof · · Score: 2, Funny

    As a friend of mine so eloquently put, "Blocking Real Audio is a bad thing?"

    --
    You need a FREE iPod Nano
  6. Re:Just gets worse for MS by Eryq · · Score: 5, Funny

    MS line of reasoning:

    "The judge found us guilty... that *proves* they were biased against us!"

    --
    I'm a bloodsucking fiend! Look at my outfit!
  7. It WAS a mistake.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

    And I imagine that the dialogue went something like this:

    Judge: "What about searches?"

    MS: "Oh, that was a mistake"

    Judge: "and the bit about IE ignoring preferences?"

    MS: "That was a mistake too."

    Judge: "Is there anything that you did that WASN'T a mistake?"

    MS: "No, your honor."

    Judge: "Can you explain these mistakes to me?"

    MS: "Umm, we got caught?"

  8. Re:Ok, maybe I am naive.. by Black+Parrot · · Score: 2, Funny


    > The States came after Microsoft because they had dollar signs in their eyes. Nothing more, nothing less. They just wanted a piece of the pie. MS's competitors are just as bad. Why do you think all of MS's competitors are suddenly coming out of the woodwork and bringing on lawsuits? Because they know MS is in a state of weakness. What better way to eliminate your biggest competition than through litigation? Not to mention, being ruled a monopoly is a surefire way to ensure every con artist and halfwit who can't make it in the market on their own will slither out of the woodwork and make bogus claims against you. Oracle and Sun are a big example of this.

    So... What exactly do you do at Microsoft?

    --
    Sheesh, evil *and* a jerk. -- Jade
  9. Re:Ok, maybe I am naive.. by Fig,+formerly+A.C. · · Score: 3, Funny

    Hasn't Microsoft ALWAYS had a monopoly in the Windows computer market? :-)

    --
    Murphy was an optimist.
  10. Re:How to shut up QuickTime's upgrade reminders by Wumpus · · Score: 3, Funny

    Hey, that circumvents a technological measure that controls access to copyrighted work!