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Microsoft Antitrust Judgement
An anonymous reader writes "Here are the links to the as-yet-unreleased judgement in the Microsoft case by CKK: Final Decree, Memorandum Opinion, Public Interest Order, Opinion on the State Settlement, State Settlement Order." In brief: Kollar-Kotelly accepts the settlement that the Federal Gov't and some states wanted, but she wants a minor change to it; and she has decided the case which was pursued by the other states as well, mostly ordering Microsoft to refrain from certain behaviors with regard to the user-visible desktop. Overall: a massive win for Microsoft, who can restrict the release of its APIs to major commercial companies only.
Microsoft Corp. anounces MS Lawyer 2k - This exciting new product translates any sentence or paragraph into pages upon pages of unintelligable lawyer speak. Vanessa Roberts, VP of Public Relations at Microsoft was quoted as saying "we have been using this product for years for our EULA's and to intimidate small competitors, we just figured it's about time we shared the wealth".
I downloaded the initial order quickly. The opinion... took a little longer... now... can't get to anything.
Congratulations people... you just slashdoted the United States of America Judicial System.
...And when they came for me, there was no one left to speak out for me." - Martin Niemoeller (1892-1984)
I'll put some kind of summary text here once I've had a chance to read it.
WTF? Ok, I'll put some kind of response here after you've posted it.
Best Windows Freeware
Don't forget:
91% - Unfunny comments labeled +5, Funny
Oh wait... that's every postboard
Is /. allowed to post a story before even Matt Drudge gets his grubby little hands on it?
Click "I agree" below to accept the terms of this Final Decree.
[I Agree] [I Do Not Agree]
Obliteracy: Words with explosions
. . Did you, at any time in your life, invest in a Ford Pinto? . . .
But this is different: /. posted the story before anyone else posted anything (I just went and looked at a bunch of sources, and the story isn't out yet as of this writing). OMG: /. doing actual journalism!
Must be a sign of the Apocalypse :-)
Crispin
----
Crispin Cowan, Ph.D.
Chief Scientist, WireX Communications, Inc.
Immunix: Security Hardened Linux Distribution
Available for purchase
The kitchen sink is part of the vital anti-virus activity known as "washing the dishes", and can therefore be kept secret.
That's "Mr. Soulless Automaton" to you, Bub.
OMG, you predicted your own rating! ;-)
Slay a dragon... over lunch!
That is indeed an accurate summary. Point J is the crucial one, which is the "Microsoft can ignore the rules" clause.
Technobabble meets Lawyer speak and makes totally incomprehensible language.
Granted, what I did understand looks good to me.
Question: When will we get a compiler to spit out java bytecode for this decision and install the new version into the Microsoft Corporate App Server? Because frankly, expecting a human being to follow this judgement is just as good as expecting a human being to parse parallel super computer algorithms in their head. Sure there are a few people who can do it, but they probably have better things to do with their time. At least I hope that they do.
Its a real shame that the judgement wasnt just this:
"PLAY NICE"
42 - So long and thanks for all the fish.
they wanted to test out the new /. servers, this big story is the way to do it.
Runnin' On Empty
I can't tell if they announced the final decree in the Microsoft case, or if they're trying to say the employees of Microsoft caught some kind of new STD.
Trolls lurk everywhere. Mod them down.
Well, since the links were not publicly accessible yet, and had not yet been officially released, this may constitute hacking according to some individuals (see thread about reuters).
Thanks to slashdot for making us all criminals.... i feel l33t now...
[Something witty and intelligent should have appeared here.]
{Traicovn}
Looks like they're going to need a "Compliance Officer." Think I'll submit my resume. I'm quite compliant, and I'll work for less than 100k. That's dollars, not stock.
Hey freaks: now you're ju
Another 3% will be posts containing "IAAL," followed by a shoddy, educated legal analysis.
The amount of money you threw at your lawyers. ($80,000,000)
"Gifts" to key government officials. ($20,000,000)
Propaganda designed to lure the public into complacity. ($20,000,000)
Getting off basically free of any real restrictions that will let you continue in basically the same manner as before, and any attempt to bring you to trial again will take another 5-10 years. Priceless.
(I'm itching to know the real numbers)
"Click "I agree" below to accept the terms of this Final Decree.
[I Agree] [I Do Not Agree]"
Should have made the I agree part link to the goatse guy.
-- "Government is the great fiction through which everybody endeavors to live at the expense of everybody else."
"OMG: /. doing actual journalism!"
What is this world coming to?! What's next, spell-checking? Dupe-checking? Article submissions without editorial commentary?
WASHINGTON (DC) Nov. 1. Judge Kollar-Kotelly, asserting a rarely used Federal Appellant Court authority, issued a second legal ruling today, this one concerning the case of two suspects charged with going on a shooting rampage in the Washington DC area. The suspects will be released immediately, but ONLY after agreeing under oath not to shoot any more innocent victims. The guns found in the alleged snipers' possesion will not be returned for a period of 5 years, and then ONLY if the two are found in compliance with this decree. Compliance will be determined by a 2 person committee made up of the snipers themselves.
You know, it seems like Microsoft could get around a lot of those judgements simply by changing the name of their OS from "Windows" to something else.
"Leave the strategizing to those of us with planet-sized brains." -Tycho
It means "Please remain bent over, the ass-poundings will resume shortly."
python -c "x='python -c %sx=%s; print x%%(chr(34),repr(x),chr(34))%s'; print x%(chr(34),repr(x),chr(34))"