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Nikon Buckles To Microsoft, Will Pay "Android Tax" For Smart Cameras

Posted by timothy on from the by-all-means dept.

walterbyrd writes with news that Nikon is the latest company to agree to pay Microsoft for the privilege of using Android on its devices — as you might expect from Nikon, the devices in this case are cameras. (Microsoft's press release.)

26 of 272 comments (clear)

  1. Hey buddy by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    You settin' up shop on my street? Nobody, I sez *nobody*... sets up shop on my street without talkin' to me foyst. OK, listen pal. Here's what I'm gonna a do for you. You just pay me a little bidda money on everything you sellz, and I'z a gonna look dee otha way, capiche?

    You callin' this "extortion"? That's a big word, my friend. 'Round here we just call it biz niss.

    1. Re:Hey buddy by HyperQuantum · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Extortion is just one way to exploit a broken system.

      --
      I am not really here right now.
    2. Re:Hey buddy by andydread · · Score: 5, Insightful

      So what the fuck do you suggesst buddy? I mean you sit down at your computer and bang out some open source code that is your code yet you and possibly others have to pay MS for the privilege of using your own code? You think Joe BIden gives a fuck what you have to say about this? These are the same fuckers that worship bill gates when he shows up to petition congress. I don't know at this point what to do about it. Even the President was asked about this software patent bullshit by Lady Ada and his answer "blah we gotta protect 'intellectual property' blah blah" Then you have the current patent office head who equates litigation to innovation so what can be done? The bottom line is that Microsoft is abusing the system to put a cost on as much open source software as possible. THis is not about Android its per say its about Linux and opensource and being able to use any computing device without paying MS. Its egregious disgusting behavior.

    3. Re:Hey buddy by jedidiah · · Score: 4, Informative

      This isn't about any genuine invention. Providing "replacement" technology is actually pretty trivial. Many of these predate their Microsoft counterpart. The real problem is that product configuration becomes unnecessarily complicated because suddenly extra device drivers are required.

      Taxes on "being compatible" are obscene and should be viewed by everyone here as such.

      --
      A Pirate and a Puritan look the same on a balance sheet.
    4. Re:Hey buddy by ozmanjusri · · Score: 4, Informative

      Its not Android that Microsoft is licensing, its some of their protocols, (MTP most likely).

      Bullshit.

      It's pretty widely known now that MS is extorting money almost exclusively for its ancient FAT filesystem patents. Because they were able to establish it as a defacto format during their monopoly years, they're now in a position where its ubiquitous. Not because its good, or innovative or took significant effort to develop. Just because it became the lowest common denominator.

      And they'll continue milking it until somebody stops them.

      It really is time for industry to route around this damage and develop a new common, free and open filesystem format, or for governments to step in and stop this abuse of their systems.

      --
      "I've got more toys than Teruhisa Kitahara."
    5. Re:Hey buddy by ozmanjusri · · Score: 4, Informative

      These are the patents from your link:

      1. FAT filenames
        FAT filenames
        Flash Memory filesystem bad block hack
        Separation layer/API for telephone radio (aka a driver)
        Adding a number from dialler to contacts
        Notification API, but on mobiles.
        Pop-up menus, but on mobiles.
        Offline/online caching and reconciliation (like Notes)

      Microsoft is claiming that the thought and effort that went into these ideas is worth more than $230,000,000 per annum in licensing fees.

      --
      "I've got more toys than Teruhisa Kitahara."
  2. Time for Microsoft to be sued out of existence by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Insightful

    They are a leach on modern businesses, their operating systems are found lacking, their office products are crap, their hardware is of the scaliest, slimiest design. In other words, they are dinosaurs in modern society.

    MPAA - On warning for extinction.
    RIAA - On warning for extinction.
    Microsoft - On warning for extinction.

    Time to open up the hunting licenses, and finish them all off.

    1. Re:Time for Microsoft to be sued out of existence by NeilBryant · · Score: 5, Interesting

      Personally, I've used MS Office since 2.0. I've taught classes in many versions. If I go boot up Word on my work machine, now, I can't find a flipping thing. It's easier to get around in LibreOffice. And all that time I spent getting good at Office feel like as big a waste of time as VisualBasic.

  3. Oy Vey by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Insightful

    They also license patents from Apple, IBM and god knows who else, but it's not a big story then.

    Why try and spin it as some sort of evil "Microsoft tax", when we could actually have a discussion on the patent system, instead of some retarded online version of two minutes hate.

    This site has become completely worthless as a place to discuss technology.

  4. Confusing press release without context by dmomo · · Score: 5, Informative

    Here's some info on the patents that Microsoft claims android is in violation of:

    http://www.networkworld.com/news/2011/070611-microsoft-android.html

    1. Re:Confusing press release without context by Dexter+Herbivore · · Score: 4, Insightful

      So what happens if MS loses the patent claims to Google? Does the "Microsoft tax" get paid to Google instead? Or just gets them invalidated for being obvious?

      Seriously, "a record button on a computer system"... what the hell, US patent system. What the hell?

    2. Re:Confusing press release without context by netol · · Score: 4, Informative

      Yes but say hello to exFAT (and its new patents), specially if you care about 4+ GB

    3. Re:Confusing press release without context by king+neckbeard · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Because Windows doesn't support anything else besides FAT and NTFS out of the box.

      --
      This is my signature. There are many like it, but this one is mine.
    4. Re:Confusing press release without context by inode_buddha · · Score: 5, Informative

      Re-posting this as a non-AC so that everyone sees it:

      "And as a follow-up to that article from 1.5 years ago, be it noted that when B&N hung tough, and was willing to go to court, MS "settled" by investing $300M in a joint venture, and they became good buddies who were not going to have such silly squabbles any more.

      Interesting that they have not gone after Apple's iOS on a lot of those same "patents" - have they?

      YMMV"

      MS *really* doesn't want to go to court over these patents, nor do they want anybody knowing exactly what they are about... As for the FAT patents? Those were unenforcable long ago. http://www.geek.com/articles/law/microsoft-fat-patent-shot-down-2004101

      --
      C|N>K
  5. Real target is not Android by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Interesting

    The real target of all this bullshit from Microsoft is the use of firmware with software other than what comes from Redmond, period. Face it Microsoft has been squeezed out of the embedded market largely because of the flexibility of OSS and the Linux kernel.

    The best and only solution is for manufactures to turn on the bastards and stop using fat and ntfs period or charge more for devices that do.

    This could easily be accomplished by providing a software tool with the cheaper devices to read write to Windows without the use of fat or ntfs. If Samsung, Nikon, Sony, Toshiba, Canon and all the other manufacturers got together and created a formatting tool for storage that they shared this could easily be accomplished.

    Having one company dictate the format in which all portable storage devices read and write is the problem and the bastards in Redmond need to be held to task and given a full financial enema for a change.

  6. Except we do. by tuppe666 · · Score: 4, Insightful

    They also license patents from Apple, IBM and god knows who else, but it's not a big story then.

    Except we do in the case of Apple *endlessly* Its not just been big news here, but in every damn newspaper worldwide. In fact very little is said of Evil Microsoft(sic) shady deals which are in the main back room affairs "While the contents of the agreement will not be disclosed" , with it being spin as a joyful agreement "Microsoft and Nikon have a long history of collaboration".

    Perhaps if your not happy you could register and submit stories you feel more worthwhile, rather than attack a community.

    1. Re:Except we do. by Nerdfest · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Microsoft are also trying to hide the 'patents' they are using as threats.

  7. Grow up, kid. by westlake · · Score: 4, Interesting

    You callin' this "extortion"? That's a big word, my friend. 'Round here we just call it biz niss.

    Nikon is a big boy now and can take care of itself.

    Founded in 1917 and a core component of the Japanese industrial cartel Mitsubishi.

    You do know Mitsubishi? Employs 350,000 people? Rakes in about $350 Billion in revenues each year?

    In a mature industry, all Android-related patents would be pooled, managed and cross-licensed to stabilize the business and the product.

    No need to build your own customized portfolio. That hasn't happened yet and the geek won't like it when it does ---- any more than he likes the dominance of the MPEG LA pools in video compression.

    1. Re:Grow up, kid. by Doctor_Jest · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Most of the people here get it. They get that Software Patents are inherently evil and wrong and should be abolished... and the patent trolls of the world need to all die in a fire. Reforming the Patent system to prevent patent trolls would go a long way towards making the Patent system what it was intended for...

      Until then, we'll see extortion like this from Microsoft (and everyone else).... I rather like the "hippie free-love software"... but then again I don't play in Apple's or Microsoft's sandbox.

      The rest of them can suck my balls.

      --
      It's the Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man.
    2. Re:Grow up, kid. by RazorSharp · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Extortion doesn't necessarily have to be a big player threatening a small player. How does the age or size of Nikon change the fact that this is extortion? It doesn't change a thing, scale is irrelevant.

      --
      "From the depths of my skeptical and rationalist soul, I ask the Lord to protect me from California touchie-feeliedom."
  8. More like Nikon is the victim. by MasterOfGoingFaster · · Score: 4, Insightful

    One less brand to ever appear on my shopping list.

    Help me understand - you are mad at the victim? Do you stop talking to friends because they paid for Windows? Don't buy anything with a Samsung-made component?

    I'm sure Nikon looked at the cost of fighting and decided it made business sense to pay them. Consider the volume of Android devices Nikon sells vs. Samsung and other cell phone companies. If it doesn't make sense for the cell phone vendors, it is unlikely to make sense for Nikon to fight in court.

    Frankly, your anger toward Microsoft might be better directed at Microsoft. And Google. Why hasn't Google challenged this?

    --
    Place nail here >+
    1. Re:More like Nikon is the victim. by Nerdfest · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Google hasn't challenged this as they haven't directly been sued, for good reason I would guess. Barnes & Noble did stand up to them, and published the jokes being used for this extortion. What Microsoft are doing should be considered criminal. I'm guessing that these companies look at the legal fees and decide that paying the extortion is significantly less expensive than paying the extortion, especially when the danger of dealing with an American company in the American legal system is taken into account.

    2. Re:More like Nikon is the victim. by bmo · · Score: 5, Interesting

      >Help me understand - you are mad at the victim?

      The problem with danegeld is that you never get rid of the Dane.

      Paying off Microsoft is the absolutely wrong "solution" to this and only emboldens Microsoft. Microsoft can point at all these people paying danegeld and say "hey, you have to pay too."

      It's why we all got mad at people who paid SCO for their extortion.

      Fuck Microsoft, but also fuck Nikon for financing their extortion.

      --
      BMO

    3. Re:More like Nikon is the victim. by bmo · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Nikon could skirt the patent by using EXT2/3 on their disks and include a driver for EXT2/3 for Windows and OSX. Because such things already exist. It's not like Windows users aren't used to installing drivers already.

      But that makes too much sense.

      Why device manufacturers insist on using VFAT and FAT64 boggles my mind.

      This whole situation is just pure laziness, and a reason why people should point and laugh at Nikon for paying danegeld.

      --
      BMO

  9. Re:Goodbye Nikon by RazorSharp · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Wow! Using your income as a tool for protest. You're so fucking cool! As if anyone gives a shit what you buy with your meager salary.

    Wow! You're so fucking cool! Using /. posts to mock those who take a moral stand! As if anyone gives a shit about your apathy and lack of concern for matters of right and wrong.

    People don't use their income as a tool for protest because they think they're going to change things. They do so because financially supporting unethical actions is unethical itself, whether the effect is great or small. Go back under your bridge.

    --
    "From the depths of my skeptical and rationalist soul, I ask the Lord to protect me from California touchie-feeliedom."
  10. Camera companies fighting for survival by MasterOfGoingFaster · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Yeah - I get all that. In principle, I agree with you.

    But the practical is different. Nikon has it's hands full with its primary competitors, and a shrinking market. Smartphones are killing the compact camera market, and new "mirror-less" cameras are eating into the D-SLR market. Canon and Sony make lots of products outside the camera business, but 75% of Nikon's sales are dependent on cameras and lenses. They are being super aggressive in the D-SLR segment to make up for that revenue, and trying to find something to fit in the space between the smartphone and D-SLR. And they need the support of Microsoft, Apple and Adobe for processing those files. Right now, they need friends - not another enemy.

    I suspect the Android camera is an experiment to see if consumers will accept a compact camera that does pretty much everything a smartphone does, except for phone calls. Do consumers want Android-based cameras? Nikon makes just a single model with Android. It could be a flop, and something Nikon might drop. Do the sales justify an expensive legal fight in the USA - Microsoft's home turf.

      I'm sure they see two giants (MS and Google) about to face-off in a war, and they will pay the MS "tax" and sit this one out. This is a bit like someone fighting cancer who decides not to get involved in a conflict between nations.

    Nikon is fighting for survival, so I think we should give them a pass on this one.

    --
    Place nail here >+