Tridgell Uses Plugfest Against Microsoft

inkslinger77 writes "Andrew Tridgell helped the European Commission's defense of its 2004 Microsoft antitrust ruling at the Court last week by talking about Plugfest, and revealing Microsoft's lack of participation. In an interview after the court had adjourned for the day, Tridgell explained that for the past six years Microsoft has boycotted the event, where engineers from around the world meet up to test their software for interoperability. "

Comments

Stands to reason

[stjobe]

for the past six years Microsoft has boycotted the event, where engineers from around the world meet up to test their software for interoperability.

Of course they have.

Primus: They don't have to go, it's a voluntary event.

Secundo: They don't want their software to interoperate with anything else than their software.

Tertio: Profit? As in "What's in it for Microsoft?"

So, it's perfectly reasonable of Microsoft to "boycott" the event. It's what you'd expect them to do.

Re:Stands to reason

[Entrope]

Sure, it's what we would expect them to do. However, it supports the claim that Microsoft does not care about interoperability and wants to illegally leverage its monopoly in some areas to dominate related areas as well. It is a strong clue that Microsoft software fails to interoperate -- if it worked well with others, sending a few engineers for the relevant two-week test session would be a cheap form of PR and would totally defuse complaints about interoperability.

IFS Plugfest is not the same thing

[Entrope]

As you would know if you had the slightest clue about Windows NT or its successors, IFS is Microsoft's proprietary Installable File System API. The only thing it tests is whether a software vendor complies with Microsoft, so there is no point for anyone else to bother attending.

Also, ITSC Plugfest is NOT the one TFA refers to (your Google fu is weak). As you might expect, Tridgell was talking about one relevant to Samba: the CIFS Conference & Plugfest, operated by the Storage Networking Industry Association. Most of the vendors who sponsor it do not use Linux on their storage solutions.

Re:How to change a heart?

[TubeSteak]

They aren't contemptuous... it's just that their profits are greater than the fines they pay. It makes sense from a business perspective to continue ignoring certain laws.

Once that dynamic changes, they'll stop breaking laws.

And it would take more than sending Bill Gates to jail for 6 months. All that would accomplish is to change the corporate structure such that he doesn't get personally smacked by the courts again.

Nope...

[Svartalf]

While it is filesystems involved, it's not the same kind- with Tridge involved with testimony, it'd be more networked filesystems and the servers that provide them. And, NO, MS isn't very open about any of that- to the point that they make it nigh impossible to do so. It's no surprise they don't attend Plugfest- it would show them to be as non-interoperable as we all know them to be on this front.