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

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! :-)

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.

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

[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: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.