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EC Reviews New Complaints Against Microsoft
Rob tells us that while Microsoft may still be fighting against existing antitrust sanctions the European Commission is already reviewing new complaints made against the software giant. From the article: "European Commission spokesperson, Jonathan Todd, confirmed that the competition commission is considering the complaints but said that no decision has been taken on a course of action, adding that the commission does not have to wait for formal complaints to take action against a company it suspects of anti-competitive behavior."
Not enough cowbell.
same old, same old... Microsoft upsetting people again...
Donald 'Duck' Dunn: We had a band powerful enough to turn goat piss into gasoline.
... ballmer chucks yet another chair against the wall.
EC Rendered Impotent Due to Constant Examination of Microsoft.
EC Contemplates Name Change To Microsoft Review Committee.
if the EC did force M$ to embrace interoperability. it would be a boon for open source, and other software companies wanting to not get stomped on with each new rev of OS/application suite.
After reading through the article, I didn't find much in the way of information. What specifically was the problem here? Microsoft still bundling? What are they being accused of bundling this time?
The kleptocrats can't quite afford their new mansions and yauchts. They're looking for large, rich businesses to help them out.
I'm confused about the "standards" that everyone touts with Firefox, even FF admits that they DO NOT follow standards strictly:
http://www.mozilla.org/access/keyboard/tabindex
Do a ctrl-f and look for "w3c", it's in that sentence! So what am I missing here FF l33ts?
"confirmed that the competition commission is considering the complaints" I can barely say that out loud, let alone imagine how Microsofts attorneys are going to understand it said with a British Accent.
The European Commission do seem to keep pluggin on this. However, I was under the impression that their first ruling was supposed to have put this to rest.
I know they already issued a financial punishment to Microsoft (which Microsoft could undoubtedly afford) but seeing as this has 'come back' again, you'd think they would arrange a punishment which would actually hurt Microsoft - to persuad them to Be Good(tm)
Ripping an new rectum in the fabric of spacetime.
These complaints come as no surprise, according to inside sources.
Go, and never darken my towels again! -- Rufus
"...We declare, state and define that it is absolutely necessary for the salvation of all human beings that they submit to the Roman Pontiff [pope]."
--POPE BONIFACE VIII, BULL UNUN SANCTUM, 1302
.... that an microsoft antitrust article features a ginormous ad for Windows XP
Why should Microsoft be forced to help their competitors? If the competitors get stomped, it's their bloody fault for not coming up with a better product.
The owls are not what they seem
...just slap them on the hand and force them to seed 2 billion dollars into a market they don't dominate...that'll teach em!
. . . blah blah blah, blah, blah blah. Blah blah blah blah blah blah,blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah. Blah blah, blah blah blah blah blah, blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah, blah, blah blah blah blah, blah blah blah blah blah blah blah, blah blah. Blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah, blah blah blah blah, blah blah blah.
[How do you say "blah" in French or German?]
Give a man a fish and you have fed him for today. Teach a man to fish, and he'll say "WHERE'S MY FISH, YOU IDIOT?"
Are they are looking to fill a hole in their budget here?
My wife's sketchblog Blob[p]: Gastrono-me
...I'll say it again. MS should just give the EU a big middle finger, and pull all the licenses of MS software from all of the EU, then start suing the EU and individuals who don't relinquish the software.
.....move the chairs out of Ballmer's office.
This is my opinion. To make sure you don't steal it, it's covered by the DMCA.
Looks like if this goes through then Open Source Software and Microsoft will be on a level playing field when it comes to interoperability.
Could things like the Windows Media format and network API nightmares could be a thing of the past on Linux and FreeBSD?
Come to think of it, will this mean that Microsoft's evil 'Direct Play' API will become an open spec? If so then this will good news for game porters the world over.
I say get Peter Mandleson to flail the very financial flesh from M$'s rotting, stinking bones!! This should be referred to Berlusconi ye olde Italian way. That rich, corrupt fucker must be good for something! I say we RISE UP and get SIR ALAN SUGAR on the case and SMASH Ballmer and Gates and the little microserfs like the chaff they surely are in a just universe. And if it isn't just, then NUKE EM using "special powers" granted by the member states!!! Let's get some Continental balls and play it OLD SKOOL! Bwahahaaaaaaaaaaa!
I hate Microsoft and all, but....never trust a guy with 2 first names.
In Europe Microsoft has different contracts with businesses preventing them from using other software.
For instance: to become some kind a MS-partner you have to have at least 30% of your staff and 50% of your sales people have some kind of MS Certification. The total share of your servers/clients that has to be Windows 70%. Next to that, if a MCS... can convince management to replace a Linux server by a Windows server they can get a bonus from MS up to 1000 Euro/server.
IF you can or will not comply your company will have to pay all licenses in full until 2 years back
To the people that don't believe me: I worked in such a company with such a contract. I told one of the customers that Microsoft wasn't his best choice for the technical needs he had (big customer, lots of servers) and I almost got fired because some big shot from Microsoft got to hear about it and demanded my release or they would revoke the license advantages. If you complain to the authorities same Bad Things(tm) will happen
Custom electronics and digital signage for your business: www.evcircuits.com
...and get some business hammocks. I hear there are a few places for that on third.
Read the rest of this comment...
It is great that more people are finally speaking out against the monopolistic and mob-like business practices of Microsoft. The question is: Is the EC finally going to do something about it or are they letting Microsoft bullying and bribing them again.
The EU is part of the operating system.
[Insert pithy quote here]
"Microsoft still bundling? What are they being accused of bundling this time?"
Notepad?
Vote for Pedro
copied from the dutch computerrijbewijs.nl
Module 0 (Office 97 t/m 2003)
Module 1 (theorie)
Module 2 (Windows 98 / 2000 / XP)
Module 3 (Word 97 t/m 2003)
Module 4 (Excel 97 t/m 2003)
Module 5 (Access 97 t/m 2003)
Module 6 (PowerPoint 97 t/m 2003)
Module 7 (Internet Explorer 5/6)
The ECDL programme is done by many, many millions, now even outside Europe, as the ICDL.
This is just awful and needs to be changed rigorously NOW !!
"The Pope? How many divisions does he have?"
Fuck Slashdot
I got a better idea. Replace the chairs with these ergonomic, impact-proof models!
FTA: "Ms Kroes [EC Competition Commissioner] has declared herself "determined" that open source developers should have access to the information, and Microsoft appealed to the Court of First Instance recently to get a legal decision on whether it should be required to share communications source code with open source software vendors."
This is about whether or not MS meets interoperability standards mandated by the EC as part of the last action against MS.
It seems crystal-clear to me: Either the standards are open, and therefore fully interoperable, or they're not.
For MS to say that their standards fulfill interoperability requirements, without allowing anyone (especially the Open Source community) to see those standards, is complete hogwash.
"the two sides still cannot agree on whether interoperability information should be made available to open source software suppliers"
The two sides? One is a private corporation, the other is a government entity. There is only one side with legal authority, and MS had better be prepared to shape up when their appeal result comes next year.
"Trolls they were, but filled with the evil will of their master: a fell race..." -- J.R.R. Tolkien on Olog-hai
"Since when does anyone give a crap about MS source code... I thought they just wanted the specifications for these protocols published in a free (beer and speech) manner?"
I do!
I could finally write good quality and secure code from the masters.
http://saveie6.com/
According to this artical, the specification is worthless:s ofts_eu_concession/
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2002/03/19/why_micro
Quote from artical:
"The source code itself is the specification . The level of detail required to interoperate successfully is simply not documentable - it would produce a stack of paper so high you might as well publish the source code."
However, they also say:
"There is information that the Samba developers want to see: the IDL descriptions for remote procedure calls. These underpin tasks such as adding users, and adding quotas and shares, and Samba developers have successfully decoded them over the wire. But it's hard work.
"These IDL descriptions are *key* for providing interoperability with Microsoft clients," wrote the team in a submission to the EU commissioners earlier this year. "If these IDL descriptions were published, open and equal interoperability with Microsoft products would be greatly enhanced (although still not perfect)."
Allison says the Samba team has requested the IDL definitions from Microsoft annually, most recently at the 2001 CIFS conference, without success."
So either they give up their source code, and endlessly whine about nasty governments "forcing them to give up their crown jewels," or else hand over a buggy spec, and risk having a court find that they failed to comply with a court order.
No doubt, they would do the latter, and try to argue that buggy specs is standard industry practice, and drag it out forever.
else Up their aases
Thus the drive by MS to push DRM'd proprietary formats with illegal tying to other proprietary tools, all protected by the DMCA/EUCD, EEA and sw patents. Then the US will enforce MS' will.
Indeed. It's a subtle straw-man.
"They want the barest minimum information on how our products talk to each other so they can ensure interoperability"
is a lot more reasonable-sounding than
"They want the actual source code of our products" (implied: so they can rip-off our hard-created intellectual property).
Frankly nobody I know would want to touch MS source code, apart from possibly virus/worm writers. Everyone else'd rather see the access and comms protocols and write their own implementations. Ones that, y'know, work.
Unfortunately, this distinction is lost on many non-technical types, and Microsoft and its lawyers have hardly been correcting people when they make the mistakes, since it's to their advantage to have it presented this way.
Everything in moderation, including moderation itself
The EU commissioner for competition, Neelie Kroes, is a very contreversial figure in Europe. She was revieing cases of companies that she was working for only a few months before, has a habit of sticking her nose into everything, and not always complying to behavior codes she accepted when taking on the position.
Last year she even got a University she used to work for to give Bill Gates an honory doctorate.
I wouldn't be surprised if the whole process slowed to a halt because of her.