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Microsoft vs. Burst.com
rocketjam writes "Robert X. Cringley has an interesting story on one of Microsoft's many little-known legal cases. Burst.com is suing Microsoft, claiming MS negotiated in bad faith for over a year before stealing Burst's patented technology for increasing the efficiency of video and audio streaming. After Microsoft submitted all emails associated with the their dealings with Burst to the court, Burst's lawyers discovered a 35-week gap of missing mail during a critical portion of the negotiations. When the judge learned the Sun vs. Microsoft antitrust case had revealed that MS keeps backups of all emails on over 100,000 tapes stored offsite, he ordered them to come up with the missing messages."
BURST POST!
A lawsuit against Microsoft. Geeze, I hope the company I work for issues a decree to install no more Microsoft products until this is worked out in court.
Oh, sorry, thats just for the SCO crap.
The lawyers printed out all the message (140 boxes) then sorted them by hand it seems to find the missing dates. Maybe they should have used a computer.
I'd call that one the Billgate.
*rimshot*
United States of America, good ol' backers of world peace.
Seattle Firefighters will tomorrow be engaged in a struggle to supress a fire after a large explosion at a data center used by Microsoft to store their offsite backups. I cant understand it the Fire Chief will state, the building seems to have flooded with acid and the 2 tons of explosives which were being stored there for some reason exploded, very unusual.
A spokesman for Microsoft will say "its unfortunate" without a hint of irony.
Do not try to read the dupe, thats impossible. Instead, only try to realize the truth
What truth?
There is no dupe
I forget, is it odd days or even days that software patents are worse than Microsoft on Slashdot?
What's even more amazing, in this case, is that it is Microsoft playing "oops, backups? whats that?"
Gosh, I don't know. Given their decidedly naive understanding of security and accessibility, I wouldn't hold them in such high esteem on backup policy.
Coincidentally a large shipment of magnets were just shipped to the address of a S. Ballmer...
"Wow...Microsoft undertaking anti-competitive behavior and holding evidence from a court of law? I don't believe it."
You forgot the bodies offshore, wearing the concrete shoes. There's a reason Microsoft's in Seattle.
I believe Burst wanted communications that had taken place between various MS managers and such. I think they're hoping to find something like:
From: BillG@msn.com
To: SteveB@msn.com
Subject: Busting Burst
Steve, I think we can use the tech we saw from Burst, but let's not pay for it, ok?
-- Don't Tase me, bro!
Maybe they should have used a computer.
Clippy: "It looks like you're trying to sue us, would you like me to delete all of your files?"
[sarcasm] You mean something like putting the legal representitives for Microsoft or the head of the company in jail for contempt of court until the judge's orders are carried out? Why would any judge order something like that? It's not like the people failing to follow those orders are accused of witholding their source of information for a story, or their encryption keys.
I mean all that Microsoft is accused of doing is committing software piracy. Stealing another companies pattented technology and embedding it within one of their own products.
Surely this doesn't rise to the level of a felony or anything do you think?
[/sarcasm]
-Rusty
You never know...
Err...wait...that's the only thing they seem to be doing lately, aside from helping the feds bust 18 year olds for writing worms.
Hey! Didn't he just RE-write the worm? Credit where credit is due... fixing bad code won't make him l33t will it?
Nonsense. Microsoft has hired former White House staffer and expert in records integrity Rose Mary Woods to look after their backups.
.
Nothing can go wrong. . . go wrong. . . go wrong. . . go. .
KFG
"So the judge ordered Microsoft to produce the missing messages. The employee PCs, the servers, and the off-site backup tapes have to be searched and soon. The Microsoft lawyers complained that would be like finding a needle in a haystack. The judge reminded them that it was they who had put that needle in the hay."
It all makes perfect sense if you consider some Ferengi Rules of Acquisition. Consider the following: #3: Never spend more for an acquisition than you have to. #16: A deal is a deal ...until a better one comes along.
#52: Never ask when you can take.
#60. Keep your lies consistent.
#181: Not even dishonesty can tarnish the shine of profit.
#189: Let others keep their reputation. You keep their money.
#242: More is good...all is better.
MS has more money than GOD
No, you are wrong. However, by GOD if you mean Linus, as in Linus "The God" Torvalds, then you are probably right...
getSexySig();
Cringley column submitters to be winners of the karma-whore-of-the-week award.
:(
Especially when they get posted on a slow Saturday.
Anyone remember what happened to the OS/2 Version of SourceSafe when Microsoft bought that?
Never heard of it.
Oh.
"Sometimes a woman is a kind of religion, she can save your soul & set you free from all your sins" - Bad Examples
to not have a backup of emails.
I once worked for a comany that was in the midst of a lawsuit. It was company policy that emails were not archived. It made presenting information for discovery so much easier.
I guess that depends on how Evil(tm) your company plans on being. I guess the company you worked for had aspirations to be as Evil(tm) as Microsoft, and by the sounds of it, is well on the way.
Evil(tm) is a registered trademark of the Microsoft Corporation.
So the judge ordered Microsoft to produce the missing messages. The employee PCs, the servers, and the off-site backup tapes have to be searched and soon. The Microsoft lawyers complained that would be like finding a needle in a haystack. The judge reminded them that it was they who had put that needle in the hay.
Classic!
python -c "x='python -c %sx=%s; print x%%(chr(34),repr(x),chr(34))%s'; print x%(chr(34),repr(x),chr(34))"
Bill and Steve been "in office" long enough to have enough mistakes pile up to put
them on a slippery slope. Of course, they have their electorate pretty well tied up.
It might take a somewhat stronger outside force to effect a regime change
Ever notice how many times enough scandal accumulates by the time a president hits
the second term that he probably wouldn't be elected a third term?
"Yes, we should steal the Burst technology and then.. .
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but that would be wrong!"
Nixon tapes gap = 18.5 minutes
MS Emails gap = 35 weeks
That's a factor of almore 20,000.
Looks like Moore's Law might apply here, too.
In a related story, the IRS has recently ruled that the cost of Windows upgrades can NOT be deducted as a gambling loss.
Ever notice how many times enough scandal accumulates by the time a president hits
the second term that he probably wouldn't be elected a third term?
Interesting, but as there is no allowed third term, I think the actual process is more like keep the scandals down for the first term, then who cares. It isn't like they can run again.
Acts of massive stupidity are almost never covered by warranty. --me.