Microsoft Settles Massachusetts Antitrust Suit

krog writes "Boston.com is reporting that Microsoft has settled its antitrust suit in Massachusetts. The state was one of the last holdouts in the class action suit. The bounty? About $34 million, distributed among individuals (as opposed to businesses and government users). Not such a bad payoff, even if it is the scraps from Billy's table..."

Comments

Yup..

[Anonymous Coward]

"Not such a bad payoff, even if it is the scraps from Billy's table..."

Jealousy rears it's ugly head once again...

34 Million is 34 Million

[tod_miller]

The best part is the precendent. I am sure that this will not stop further action being taken against M$ in the event that they do continue to damage other companies through delibrate anti-competative behaviour.

It is terrible that the European ruling on Microsoft has managed to be suspended, but lets hope the momentum can pass it through. It must be chaotic at Redmond.

*muahaha*cough*

I wonder, does Microsoft have a problem getting good employees? I would think that most developers worth their salt would work anywhere rather than for M$.

Re:34 Million is 34 Million

[justkarl]

I wonder, does Microsoft have a problem getting good employees? I would think that most developers worth their salt would work anywhere rather than for M$.

I would disagree. Just because a company has legal troubles,(What company doesn't) it doesn't mean they're a bad company to work for. In fact, I hear from people who have worked for MS that it's one of the better places to work, with good pay and superior benefits packages. Granted, MS should be punished appropriately for what they've done, but I don't think it makes them 100% Evil.

Re:34 Million is 34 Million

[tod_miller]

No I meant more of the fact that there is a large anti-microsoft feeling in the up and coming IT talent, and this perhaps is a great threat to Microsoft.

Those with the talent do tend to embrace the technologies.

Perhaps this carcinogenic intake of less than great talent into Microsoft (not aimed at you, if you work for them, well, heck, it is! ;-) is what will kill them.

I mean, I wouldn't ever work for them! EvEr!

Whats that Bill? How much? Erm... ok! :-)

Re:34 Million is 34 Million

[ctr2sprt]

I wonder, does Microsoft have a problem getting good employees? I would think that most developers worth their salt would work anywhere rather than for M$.

If you'd thought for even fifteen seconds, you would've thought of at least one compelling reason to work for Microsoft: "I need money to buy food, and Microsoft is willing to give me money to work for them." It's not easy finding work in IT, no matter how good a programmer you are.

Even with that aside, not all the world regards Microsoft with the same jihadist attitude that some Slashdotters do. It may surprise you to learn this, but there are a great many very good programmers who - are you ready for this? - don't even read Slashdot.

I'm definitely a programmer worth my salt, unless you have some unusually high standard. And I'd love to work at MS. And why wouldn't I? The chance to work on the most well-known piece of software in the world? Even better, the chance to improve it, make into what I want it to be, in at least some small way? And who knows, if I did my job well and kissed the right asses, I might end up making serious decisions about the direction the OS takes. (No question that the odds are slim, but they're the same odds you get working as a programmer anywhere.) So instead of whining about how Windows sucks and is insecure, I could work at making it good and secure. Yes, yes, cue the jokes about a neverending task, but... perfection is boring. Far better to work on something flawed, but with real potential. That way you can really make a difference in the outcome.

Isn't that what everyone wants out of their jobs, the chance to make a real difference? How can you fault people who try to do just that at Microsoft?

Re:34 Million is 34 Million

[justkarl]

No I meant more of the fact that there is a large anti-microsoft feeling in the up and coming IT talent, and this perhaps is a great threat to Microsoft.

Look, don't ban me for life from Slashdot for saying it; I mean, I like Linux as much as the next guy. But I think "up and coming" IT talent(A category I would put myself in) needs to understand and support both Linux and MS, because MS will remain to be a major market shareholder for a long time. But I'm sure Linux will grow into the mainstream, too(although it sort of already has).

Re:34 Million is 34 Million

[gl4ss]

the money should just be a slap.. what's bad about this kind of settling is that it doesn't really make MS change it's act any cleaner at all, on the contrary it gives them an ok signal to keep doing what they've been doing all along.

as to the employees, they get good money. there's enough of people wanting good money. besides, people are very good at twisting the world in their eyes so that they're the good guys.

Re:34 Million is 34 Million

[tod_miller]

No doubt about supporting Linux and MS, but working for them? I am just thinking that, although not everyone, there is a fairly large chunk of people who wouldn't work for Microsoft, and perhaps, not all of them, but many of them, are the top in their field.

A small perceptual slump in the number of people in certain skill areas not wanting to work for Microsoft would possibly have a noticible effect with the management, they might start 'opening sources' to the code.

To be honest, it is easier to look at MS Office, and see what it does, than to look at the code and see what it does.

Look to innovate, not immitate (OT but hey, it sounded good!)

Re:34 Million is 34 Million

[tod_miller]

"people are very good at twisting the world in their eyes so that they're the good guys."

Good point, and as another poster said, you might actually try and make a difference.

The problem is, you cannot truly develop under the limitations of immediate profitability.

If you have worked on a large project, you know how much gets cut, rushed, 'tested' and pushed through.

Times that by Microsoft. It isn't their fault, they are balancing everything for profit.

It is just the everything we care about.

Re:34 Million is 34 Million

[richie2000]

I have an old friend that works for Microsoft (well, I have several, but this one's special) and he kept saying how everybody has a price. Then one day, Microsoft bought the company I worked for. 1066 million SEK (roughly $140 million USD) for ~100 people and a mobile Internet platform. That very same day I handed in my resignation (yes, this was in 1999). My boss persuaded me to stay on as a consultant for a while but I milked them good before I left. Best part was they cashed in my options program, netting me a good $14k before taxes.

A few years later they killed off the unit, assimilating the best guys back to Redmond in the process. Business as usual in Mordor.

Re:34 Million is 34 Million

[tod_miller]

*applause*

Thank you for sharing. Here at AMA (Anti-Microsoft Anonymous) We share your pain, and we share youe hope as we too can sometimes screw them over :-)

Cool website (webhackande.se) the only bit I could read was 'Cindy Crawford' :-$ :-)

Re:34 Million is 34 Million

[richie2000]

Well, I guess I'm not so anonymous, then. :-)

Have a look at www.webhackande.se/~richie/ or www.gpz1100.com, they're both in English instead of bork-de-bork.

Re:34 Million is 34 Million

[Anonymous Coward]

Most us developers work for a living, not because of religious type zealotry.

Better than Arizona settlement

[Anonymous Coward]

Qualifying Massachusetts consumers will receive vouchers used to buy any manufacturer's desktop, laptop and tablet computers; any software available for sale to the public and used with those products; and specified accessories for use with computers.

So at least this settlement won't be further solidifying Microsoft's monopoly by only providing vouchers for Microsoft products. Go Massachusetts!

There is a such a thing as a Free Lunch!

[tod_miller]

"The vouchers will go to those districts in which 50 percent or more of the students are eligible for free or reduced-price lunches."

Thanks Microsoft! When do I get to sue them?

Basically 36 million in vouchers, people can buy IT stuff. Half of any not claimed goes to schools for IT quipt.

In other news...

[tod_miller]

Sales of PS2's and GTA Vice City have suddenly gone up this morning, residents armed with M$ Vouchers gleefully ran over peds, shouting, "take that gates, you baaaa *cut*"

m$...

[the_real_rs]

has alof of cash cows. it will take 500 more sues to acualy even hurt m$. But its about time that this shows that m$ is evil and not good like everyone else think they are.

Isn't it supposed to hurt?

[Apreche]

It is my understanding that when someone sues you, and you settle, that it is supposed to hurt you. But when MS settles lawsuits it only helps them.

Under the settlement, Microsoft will give half the value of any unclaimed vouchers to Massachusetts' public schools.

Ok MS, you've been a bad boy. We're going to punish you by putting your software in all of our public schools. This will ensure that are children grow up with your software and never find out about that penguin guy or that yummy fruit. That's your punishment for monopolizing you bad boy.

Re:Isn't it supposed to hurt?

[silicon not in the v]

I'm glad you haven't been modded up yet. You quote one line from the article, make a false assumption and apparently didn't read the VERY NEXT SENTENCE, which disproved what you ranted about. Let me quote those two sentences here with emphasis on the part you seem to have missed.

Under the settlement, Microsoft will give half the value of any unclaimed vouchers to Massachusetts' public schools. Those vouchers may be used to buy hardware, Microsoft software and non-Microsoft software, and professional development services.

Can we also look at this paragraph above that?

Qualifying Massachusetts consumers will receive vouchers used to buy any manufacturer's desktop, laptop and tablet computers; any software available for sale to the public and used with those products; and specified accessories for use with computers.

So these vouchers, claimed or unclaimed, can be used to buy barebones systems with no OS installed, or even PC's pre-installed with Linux? How about that? And it only took a little R'ing of TFA to find that out.

Last Holdout

[4of12]

IIRC, Massachusetts was the last state holding out for an appeal of the Justice Department's settlement with Microsoft.

How has that settlement been working in practice?

There seems to be simmering small changes and perturbations as the agreement is reviewed, such as protocol licensing (MCPP).

Quoting from the Infoworld article:

Microsoft still enjoys a 90 percent market share in the browser and desktop operating system markets, said Stephen Houck, representing the so-called California group of states that sued Microsoft in the antitrust case. The licensing program's effect on competition is difficult to find, he said.

Kollar-Kotelly agreed. "At this point, it's difficult to measure its impact on the marketplace," she said.

The changes to the program are largely cosmetic, Ed Black, president and chief executive officer of the Computer and Communications Industry Association, said after the hearing. The two-year extension of the licensing program is the equivalent of rearranging deck chairs on a sinking ship, he said.

If Judge Kollar-Kotelly finds the agreement not to be working effectively, then perhaps it's time for the court to review the agreement to see what changes might be made in order to effectively rectify the ongoing illegal monopoly and to restore a competitive marketplace.

The Easy Way Out

[Dozix007]

Large coorporations\industries are quite simply just taking the "easy" way out. The same thing happened with Microsofts settlement in Arizona, just give what you don't want. The prime example of this is the RIAA giving it's leftover stock of unsold CDs to schools then getting a Tax write off for it. Some chairity.

$34M to Microsoft is not $34M to you or I.

[Bob_Robertson]

Re-read the article. $34M in PRODUCT.

That means that Microsoft gets to write off $300 for each of 120,000 copies of Office and XP Pro, while costing themselves $.50 for duplication and packaging of each CD.

That $34M is going to cost Microsoft about $60K, and then they will make millions when the software they gave away comes due for upgrade and replacement.

That's right, Microsoft Makes Money from their own prosecution!

Oh, it's good to be the Gates.

Bob-

$34M of vouchers is NOT $34M

[njdj]

It's not $34 million. It's vouchers which can be used to buy hardware, Microsoft software, and non-Microsoft software.

More than half the lifetime capital cost of a typical working PC is the software. And, because Microsoft has a monopoly on operating systems and on the most profitable applications (Microsoft Office), a good chunk of the software expenditure will go straight back to Microsoft. The total cost of this settlement to Microsoft is considerably less than $34 million. It's like a cheap promotion for them. That's why this is a really poor settlement. A fair settlement would have required Microsoft to pay in cash, not vouchers. That's the only fair way to compensate people who were forced to buy bundled software, when they really didn't need to pay for any software at all.

Re:$34M of vouchers is NOT $34M

[tod_miller]

I'd sure as heck spend my vouchers on a Ps2, PDA, and perhaps *bling*

Everyone spend their vouchers on their fav. distro CD :-)

Oh, we are talking about common people. :-( Anyone on /. actually get a voucher?

Retention issues

[SgtChaireBourne]

I wonder, does Microsoft have a problem getting good employees? I would think that most developers worth their salt would work anywhere rather than for M$.

Maybe. At least it seems to have to work harder to retain any it might have still:

From an earlier article:

Microsoft says about half of eligible employees have sold their underwater stock options, in the culmination of changes to its compensation methods

...

Employees in the United States who are due to receive less than $20,000 from the program will be paid in one instalment later this month, while those due more money will be paid in two or three instalments over the next three years.

Staggering the payments is designed to increase retention, as employees need to remain with Microsoft to receive the payout.

I find it probable that the developers are dropping out, as we have seen in the management. M$ is too far behind the times in technology. In marketing, they're the best, but compatibility issues, stability issues, and security issues are pushing customers away and moving them to more productive tools instead.