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Hungary Officials Raid Microsoft Office
Steve writes "Hungarian government officers raided the offices of a Microsoft subsidiary this week, as part of a probe into the company's relationship with large software distributors. From the article: 'According to the statement, Microsoft used sales conditions and offered software distributors incentives - described as loyalty discounts - so they wouldn't offer clients anything but Microsoft Office products. Such behavior could lead to the exclusion of competitive products from the market and violate European Union rules, according to the authority known as the GVH.'"
If this had really happened, it would be another god reason to not live on the wrong side of the pond.
Other governments are not going to allow their pet companies to be squashed by the current US pet company. Eliminating M$ will not usher in freedom on it's own, but diversity of software makes free software much easier.
Friends don't help friends install M$ junk.
Damn, you're such a fag...
How many times have people here expressed doing the exact same thing (forcing people and companies to only use FOSS)? In fact, that's the entire reason for creating the GPLv3.
So not to give anyone a free pass on any shading dealings which may or may not have been going on, but realistically speaking, what's the difference? Either MS or the FOSSies are trying to remove the choices either comsumers or businesses can make. At least with MS you can still use FOSS- but if you use Lunix, you give up any way to practically use commercial software (WINE is not a practical... or even reasonable... solution): Lunix locks you in to FOSS with no way out and no practical alternatives.
We see this time and again, with businesses who have the audacity to design their pages for IE, or who choose to go with Windows Media Player. FOSSies don't advocate the right to choose, they are advocating the choices THEY want.
In a strange way, I actually trust MS more than the FOSS community: at least MS isn't forwarding a hidden agenda.
First, Microsoft does not have a monopoly on OS or any other application. Unless Open Offeice and Linux are just figments of imagination.
Second, generally most companies, not just Microsoft, reward sales people for exclusive representation. Business as usual.
If you want news from today, you have to come back tomorrow.