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Microsoft's New Hurdles

Posted by timothy on from the now-just-observe-the-following-rules dept.

gnuadam writes "The New York Times (free reg. required) is now running a piece about how the recently accepted settlement between Microsoft and the DOJ will affect the ever-so-loving relationship between them and the "worldwide community of volunteer programmers" who work on Linux and associated programs. Of interest, one interviewee quipped, "My prediction is that within three years time, Microsoft will `give away' its operating system to preserve its revenue in the applications business." Would Microsoft give away Windows to sell Office? Stay tuned." Update: 11/04 19:33 GMT by T : In related news, an anonymous reader writes "In an interview with Linux and Main Free Software Foundation General Counsel Eben Moglen reacts to Friday's U.S. v. Microsoft ruling and describes how it and 'trusted computing' will figure in formulating the next version of the GPL, expected in the next few months."

7 of 336 comments (clear)

  1. In other news... by jez9999 · · Score: 5, Funny

    My prediction is that within three years time, Microsoft will `give away' its operating system to preserve its revenue in the applications business.

    In other news, Microsoft announced that it will 'give away' its operating system to schools in Namibia to preserve their education system.

    --
    == Jez ==
    Do you miss Firefox? Try Pale Moon.
  2. Just watch... by mellonhead · · Score: 4, Funny

    And you thought AOL was over zealous when it came to mailing out CDs...

  3. Re:The Gillette Model by SourKAT · · Score: 3, Funny

    I can almost see MS giving away the OS and charging for bug fixes.

    Ooh, if that's the case, I just can see them doubling their $40B cash in just six months ... and that's just for IE.

  4. OS free, but Plus! pack $$$ by kruczkowski · · Score: 3, Funny

    Windows may be givin away in magazines free, but that damn Plus! pack will cost you an arm and leg!

    --
    hmm... for fun I enjoy launching DDoS attacks against 127.87.42.5
  5. Re:Hardly by b0r1s · · Score: 5, Funny

    Those bastards! Not supporting Windows 95! How dare them end-of-life a 9 year old piece of software!

    Nevermind the fact that Apple no longer supports anything other than OS X, and is planning on making most systems not boot into OS 9 after a date in the very near future.

    --
    Mooniacs for iOS and Android
  6. Re:.Net Runtime negates the need for this by Lemmy+Caution · · Score: 5, Funny
    Great. The reliability and security of Microsoft on the server back-end, and the ease-of-use, consistency, and interapplication compatibility of Unix on the client.

    Welcome to hell.

  7. "One interviewee?" by sammy+baby · · Score: 4, Funny

    Not that I usually criticize Slashdot for lack of editorial judgement - that would be like criticizing the devil for being naughty - but the "one interviewee" who foretold MS giving away Windows for free was Brian Behlendorf, who can't exactly be called neutral where questions about Microsoft and open source software are concerned.

    In other news, Bill Gates says "We will crush Linux like a bug," and Steve Jobs says, "Mac OS X is just so insanely great, it's insane in its greatness." Ho hum.