The 'Hairy Guys' Vs. Microsoft

Jeremy Allison - Sam writes "The IHT is running the best write-up I've seen on the Microsoft vs EU Anti-Trust case, featuring quotes from tridge (Creator of Samba) and Carlo Piana (the FSFE lawyer). Nicely contrasts the difference between the Microsoft legal Team and the resources the FSFE has to work with. I was the FSFE witness for the initial hearing and the first trial, and this article nicely explains what it's like to be there." From the article: "The settlements left a group of computer programmers and activists, united under the banner of the Free Software Foundation Europe, with a bigger-than-expected role in supporting the EU's goal of loosening Microsoft's grip over the software industry. Only half-joking, one observer at the court this past week called some members FSFE and allies 'the hairy guys' - in contrast to the well- groomed legal teams fielded by Microsoft."

Comments

All suit and no action

[Anonymous Coward]

Microsoft likes to present itself as well groomed and well mannered. It's a nice cover for their back alley tactics (which contine to this day, and will for all time). They appear like the Don polishing his favorite apple which he took from the poor lady on the street (without paying for it). "HOW DARE YOU CHARGE ME" would be his reply if she asked for compensation. He might just tip over her cart and knock her to the ground instead. Microsoft has wrung protection out of millions. Now a group from the community is banding together. The internet ties them. Microsoft and it's BSA brute squad can only kick down so many doors before a large group starts kicking down the BSA's (and Microsoft's) doors. You can call that collected community group hairy if you want to, but unlike Microsoft, they are respectable and non-crimminal.

I for one welcome...

[AmazingRuss]

...our hirsute, bespectacled overlords.

Re:Obvious

[Anonymous Coward]

*OR*, have other interests than selling products through 'selling themselves'. Make no mistake, 'the hairy guys' are the people who truly love what they do. More often than not, these are also the people who give birth to new technologies. The suits just take their innovation and sell it as their own. All-time classic: 'who do you trust, me or that guy who doesn't even care about his haircut?'. The right answer is 'Never trust a suit'...

I won't waste a mod point on this

[Flying pig]

You don't understand the case. It is the EU's competition department that is bringing the case against Microsoft, not Tridge et al. The contention is that Microsoft has abused its monopoly.

Well, FWIW, I know one of the "smooth suited professionals" that Microsoft employs. And his opinion? That the arguments that Microsoft wanted deployed in court were, in summary "We are so important and so essential to the IT world that you must allow us to do whatever we want." Unfortunately, judges do not take warmly to this kind of argument. Judges like John Cooke have a clue about things like Firefox (and now knows a lot more about how kernels work and that Windows Embedded means that the Microsoft kernel need not be monolithic). They are also used to academic expert witnesses, and European academics can be very unusual indeed. I don't know what the outcome will be, but it is far from clear that the FOSS movement will lose, at least in the Eurozone.

Re:I won't waste a mod point on this

[gtwilliams]

MS put a media player into the OS. Big freeking deal.

Yes and now we're stuck with the proprietary codecs for lots of Web content.

Yet this is even MORE invasive than that. ANY bundled application could have to play by the same rules.

No. Only the company with a monopoly is barred from bundling.

Also where was it written that MS had to share its code with you?

No one is asking for code. Only interface specifications.

Re:I won't waste a mod point on this

[zsau]

Mate, you've completely missed the point.

Microsoft's not in trouble because they've bundled software. Microsoft's in trouble because they've abused their monopoly in one area (end-user operating systems and office-program file formats) to gain monopolies in other areas (web browsers, media formats, server operating systems etc).

It's not the fact that there's a media player integrated with the OS: As you say, that's been around since Windows 3.something, and Apple's OS X and most GNU/Linux distributions contain them by default. It's the fact that they're abusing their operating system monopoly to encourage a file format monopoly, which will then re-inforce their OS monopoly. (Think about it: Support on GNU/Linux music/movie players for the WMV format is limited. Knowing that, will you be less likely to switch?)

OTOH, all free software uses documented, easily understood and re-implemented file formats. Even if Red Hat got a monopoly on OSes and used that to try for one on music players with Rhythmbox, Microsoft could easily write a better music player that supports Ogg Vorbis files, and users could switch at no cost in terms of file formats.

That's why Tridgell, who develops Samba, software which allows communication with Windows file and printer shares from alternative operating systems, is there. Tridgell didn't have a viable business that was ruined by Microsoft bundles. He's trying to create a better file server that users can switch to at no cost in terms of client/protocol support, and Microsoft is trying to stop him in ways European society (it seems) generally does not approve of.

Something has to come out of this

[gilesjuk]

Microsoft can't be let off the hook twice, both the US and EU cases have cost US and EU tax payers a lot of money.

The US case was largely dropped due to a change of US leadership and a short sighted attitude that it's best to have a big US IT monopoly than let things go abroad.

The EU case could easily disappear for similar reasons, the EU commissioners aren't democratically elected and have been known to take backhanders in the past.

Re:This could have been settled a long time ago

[Anonymous Coward]

... if computer makers were prohibited from bundling Windows with every Intel-based PC.

Having to pay a premium to get a box without Windows is the definition of arm-twisting.

Re:This could have been settled a long time ago

[Peter Greenwood]

> No one is twisting your arm to use Microsoft products..

Then why does it hurt? ...

1. My kids go to school, where they run - guess what. They come home and insist they need MS Word, or Publisher, or Powerpoint, etc.. They don't say "I need to do so and so", because that isn't what they are taught. Oh, and guess who volunteered early on in the term of the present British government to provide IT training for teachers.

2. I do Unix support, and the machine I'm given to do it with runs - guess what. My working life is spent going through Win-to-Unix kludges to get needlessly limited access to the systems.

3. The kids come home, and want to play games. These come in versions that run on various proprietary consoles and ... you guessed it.