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Microsoft Sues US Customs For Allowing Imports of Banned Motorola Phones

Posted by timothy on from the we-seek-this-rent-wholeheartedly dept.

SmartAboutThings writes "Microsoft filed a lawsuit on Friday accusing the United States Customs of secretly meeting with Google representatives to allow imports of Motorola devices that are infringing on Microsoft's ActiveSync technology and therefore should be banned." The article lists 18 (older) Android devices that are named in the complaint; Xoom owners just got some street cred.

87 comments

  1. NSA tipped them off? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    how did they find out?

    1. Re:NSA tipped them off? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Hey asshole try to be more polite please ...

    2. Re:NSA tipped them off? by Lisias · · Score: 2

      Probably one of the Balmer's (or Gate's) relatives brought one, and he noticed that on the last weekend's barbecue. =P

      --
      Lisias@Earth.SolarSystem.OrionArm.MilkyWay.Local.Virgo.Universe.org
    3. Re:NSA tipped them off? by nitehawk214 · · Score: 2

      Probably one of the Balmer's (or Gate's) relatives brought one, and he noticed that on the last weekend's barbecue. =P

      Sounds like an rpg: "Balmer's Gate"

      --
      I'm a good cook. I'm a fantastic eater. - Steven Brust
    4. Re:NSA tipped them off? by Lisias · · Score: 1

      Sounds like an rpg: "Balmer's Gate"

      Or perhaps, some presidential scandal from the seventies! =D

      --
      Lisias@Earth.SolarSystem.OrionArm.MilkyWay.Local.Virgo.Universe.org
  2. Doesn't Sovereign Immunity Apply? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    n/t

  3. Rogue Fed Departments? by Freshly+Exhumed · · Score: 4, Informative

    From a Bloomberg article: 'U.S. Customs and Border Protection, after having secret meetings with Google, continued to let the Motorola Mobility mobile phones enter the country even though Google has done nothing to remove the feature at the heart of the ITC case, Microsoft said in the complaint. The case illustrates what Lexmark International Inc. (LXK) and Lutron Electronics Co. in May called an “increasingly ineffective and unpredictable enforcement” of import bans imposed by the trade agency.'

    Employing bureaucratic shortcuts is apparently alive and well. Does this point to corruption, or is it simply a matter of poor information flow?

    --
    I deny that I have not avoided attaining the opposite of that which I do not want.
    1. Re:Rogue Fed Departments? by Rockoon · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Does this point to corruption, or is it simply a matter of poor information flow?

      Yes.

      --
      "His name was James Damore."
    2. Re:Rogue Fed Departments? by Lehk228 · · Score: 1, Troll

      considering that the source of the Ban was ITC, another bureaucratic shortcut instead of proving infringement in a court of law, nothing of value was lost

      --
      Snowden and Manning are heroes.
    3. Re:Rogue Fed Departments? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Or bad patents that should never have been granted in the first place?

    4. Re:Rogue Fed Departments? by ericloewe · · Score: 1

      Two wrongs don't make a right.

    5. Re:Rogue Fed Departments? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Check the workers palms for grease.

    6. Re:Rogue Fed Departments? by geoskd · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Two wrongs don't make a right.

      In this case, I'm pretty sure they do...

      --
      I wish I had a good sig, but all the good ones are copyrighted
    7. Re:Rogue Fed Departments? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Yes.

      if (isMan() || isWoman())
      printf("yes");

      Pretty hard for a person to not be able to answer yes.

    8. Re:Rogue Fed Departments? by Lisias · · Score: 2

      CIvil disobedience? From bureaucrats?

      Only on your dreams... (And mine too, by the way!)...

      --
      Lisias@Earth.SolarSystem.OrionArm.MilkyWay.Local.Virgo.Universe.org
    9. Re:Rogue Fed Departments? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Funny

      Check your privilege, cisgendered scum.

    10. Re:Rogue Fed Departments? by Zemran · · Score: 3, Insightful

      If the phone is bought legally in another country, what right have customs got to stop someone bringing a legal product (legal where it was bought) into the country. Next think you know they will try to impose US laws in other countries... oh yeah, sorry, they are already doing that.

      --
      I love stacking my barbecues in the shed at the end of summer - you can't beat a bit of grill on grill action.
    11. Re:Rogue Fed Departments? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      This wasn't part of the agreement. MS gives NSA back-doors, and in return, gets promises that the US gov't will protect MS's business. Of course MS is upset.

    12. Re:Rogue Fed Departments? by noh8rz8 · · Score: 0

      WRONG - mandela said that nonviolent protest was ineffective against armed enforcement, while mlk (& ghandi) said that nonviolence was the only way to overthrow the oppressors. who was right? it turns out all of them won, but not clear if it was for either of these reasons. one metric, we got 2 on 1, and ghandi adds a lot of weight because of india's population.

      --
      You want to upvote/downvote? Go back to Reddit! Here we mod up/mod down.
    13. Re:Rogue Fed Departments? by tqk · · Score: 1

      mandela said that nonviolent protest was ineffective against armed enforcement, while mlk (& ghandi) said that nonviolence was the only way to overthrow the oppressors. who was right?

      Since we're analyzing, both MLK and Ghandi were assassinated. Does that tell us anything about the conundrum, other than Mandela outlived the others? Perhaps Mandela's many years in prison protected him from assassins, or maybe life's just a damned crap shoot.

      --
      "Tongue tied and twisted, just an Earth bound misfit ..." -- Pink Floyd.
    14. Re:Rogue Fed Departments? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      what right have customs got to stop someone bringing a legal product (legal where it was bought) into the country

      Lmao -- seriously? did you even THINK about what you were writing?

      Tell you what, why don't you try this little experiment:

      1) Fly over to Amsterdam and buy ~10 kilos of Marijuana (it's legal there!).
      2) Package it all up nice and securely and put it in your onboard luggage for your return trip.
      3) Upon reaching customs, peacefully explain to them how they have "no right to stop someone bringing a legal (where it was purchased) product into the country".
      4) Write us back and let us know how things went from there...

      -AC

    15. Re:Rogue Fed Departments? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      But three lefts do.

    16. Re:Rogue Fed Departments? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      No shit - that had to been what he was smoking when he made that post.

    17. Re:Rogue Fed Departments? by johanw · · Score: 1

      > Fly over to Amsterdam and buy ~10 kilos of Marijuana (it's legal there!).

      No it's not - an amount for personal use is free, and that is defined as X grams (don't know the exact number). 10 kg is certainly more than that.

    18. Re:Rogue Fed Departments? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      RoFL! -- fine, then try bringing back half a dozen joints instead, or substitute oranges, or some other citrus fruits, or any one of hundreds of other things that are banned from being imported... It's the same point, and still adequately demonstrates the absurdity of the original comment... LOTS of things are banned from import, and it is the precise duty of the Customs and Border Patrol to prevent them from coming into the Country. This SHOULDN'T be a foreign concept, and making the claim makes the OP look idiotic...

      -AC

    19. Re:Rogue Fed Departments? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      1) Fly over to Amsterdam and buy ~10 kilos of Marijuana (it's legal there!).

      It's not legal - it's de-criminalized. There's a difference.

      You, not being a Dutch citizen, can't buy any. And Dutch citizens can't buy kilos either - it requires a special licence (good luck getting one of those if you don't own an existing cafe - with a licence to dispense).

      But don't let being completely wrong stop you from lugging those goal posts all around the field in a pathetic and futile attempt to support your (unsustainable) argument.

      P.S. don't take that the wrong way.

    20. Re:Rogue Fed Departments? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      If the phone is bought legally in another country, what right have customs got to stop someone bringing a legal product (legal where it was bought) into the country. Next think you know they will try to impose US laws in other countries... oh yeah, sorry, they are already doing that.

      Buying a phone abroad and bringing it to the US is still importing. Laws governing importing do not stop applying because the product quantity is one. Also things may be able to buy things legally in one country but be prohibited from importing it into another. For example, you cannot import hashish into the US even if you freely bought it in a high street shop in the Netherlands.

    21. Re:Rogue Fed Departments? by Zemran · · Score: 1

      Drugs are prohibited by law, phones are not. Sorry if this concept is beyond you. Then again, if you had been capable of thought you would have noticed the tongue in cheek nature of the post but I do not want to stop you from looking idiotic.

      --
      I love stacking my barbecues in the shed at the end of summer - you can't beat a bit of grill on grill action.
    22. Re:Rogue Fed Departments? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Correct, I think most of us are actually aware of the laws on hash, so it is about breaking drug laws rather than smuggling or even importing. Carrying an object into the US is not importing. As someone that travels a lot I have to deal with this a lot. I can take somethings into some countries that are illegal to import given that I am not staying and therefore not importing the technology etc. If I own something and have used it it is not normally considered an import even though technically if I intend to keep it in the country it is importing, unless it is actually illegal to own that object in that country. The phones mentioned are not illegal, they are banned from sale.

    23. Re:Rogue Fed Departments? by Lisias · · Score: 1

      It is better to be violent, if there is violence in our hearts, than to put on the cloak of nonviolence to cover impotence.

      Mahatma Gandhi

      --
      Lisias@Earth.SolarSystem.OrionArm.MilkyWay.Local.Virgo.Universe.org
  4. does this mean... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    ...that I can sue the border agency, or the U.S. customs agency for allowing cocain across the border, into my country?

    1. Re:does this mean... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      ...that I can sue the border agency, or the U.S. customs agency for allowing cocain across the border, into my country?

      You should have sued them for allowing guns to flow the other way on purpose..

    2. Re:does this mean... by interval1066 · · Score: 2

      We (US Citizens) should be claim sovreiegn immunity the next time the law comes knocking on our doors.

      --
      Python: 'And then suddenly you have a language which says "we're all stuck with whatever the whiniest coder wants".'
  5. so....it has come to this.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    So....it has come to this....

  6. Imhofe by ISoldat53 · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I guess Google's backing of James Imhofe paid off. And who is Microsoft to complain about secret meetings with government officials?

    1. Re:Imhofe by shentino · · Score: 1

      Who is Microsoft?

      Still a monopolist whining that it got deposed.

  7. Defy is on the list! by HornWumpus · · Score: 1

    I like this tough old POS better every day. Been swimming with it. Blown metal chips off it with compressed air. It won't die.

    --
    John McAfee 'It was like that time I hired that Bangkok prostitute; to do my taxes, while I fucked my accountant'
  8. Tell me about Activesync by tuppe666 · · Score: 2, Insightful

    I have never done any of this, but you have to wonder if this is a home goal twinned with what should be an antitrust case. Google have dropped activesync.http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2413283,00.asp (Anyone else forgot how pro Microsoft PCmag was)

    The most ironic part of this Windows Phone users used to get gmail messages instantaneously...and now they don't...like Windows Phone was not already second class technology.

    Technology(sic) like this should be used to give additional benefits to Microsoft Users not used to attack competing companies(and its own customers) in markets where...lets be honest its product continues to fail after 3 years (I remember when they had 10% of the smart-phone market)

    Trying to Bullying companies as large...rich...popular...successful...like...Google is just stupid(Apple have behind closed doors agreement). Insane when their product occupies 75% of the market and yours occupies 3%.

    The bottom line is even if these product were banned...Windows Phone would have remained a failure, not its a little more likely to continue to be.

    1. Re:Tell me about Activesync by Lisias · · Score: 1

      The most funny (or not!) part of all this mess is that my Palm LifeDrive already did all that almost 10 years ago.

      The only and sorely difference is that it was done using WiFi and not by 3G or GPRS (as my Android does right now, as I don't want to pay the outrageous fess of my countries's 3G services).

      --
      Lisias@Earth.SolarSystem.OrionArm.MilkyWay.Local.Virgo.Universe.org
  9. Microsoft should be banned by nurb432 · · Score: 0

    Oh, and Oracle.

    --
    ---- Booth was a patriot ----
  10. USG to Microsoft by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Remember that antitrust lawsuit you stiffed us on? We can hold grudges too.

  11. We've been cutting funding for this stuff... by rsilvergun · · Score: 4, Insightful

    since the 80s. It always amazes me when people are surprised that laws aren't enforced when we've been slashing the budgets of these 'evil bureaucratic' for 30 years. Funny how the bureaucratic ain't evil when he's doing something you want done, ain't it? Buddy of mine is getting screwed over in the only job he could find. Starts life as an ardent anti-bureaucratic guy until he goes looking for the labor board to seek redress and finds out there isn't one.

    Sure kids. Have all the laws protecting you're rights you want. We control the purse strings, so we just won't fund enforcement.

    --
    Hi! I make Firefox Plug-ins. Check 'em out @ https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/youtube-mp3-podcaster/
    1. Re:We've been cutting funding for this stuff... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yea, slashing budgets is the ONLY reason for government corruption.

    2. Re:We've been cutting funding for this stuff... by interval1066 · · Score: 2

      ...we've been slashing the budgets of these 'evil bureaucratic' for 30 years...

      Yet the federal budget is the largest its EVER BEEN, and the defcit is now well over 16 billion dollars, the larget ever. Funny how that works. Also funny that Microsoft would sue the same org they've been working for.

      --
      Python: 'And then suddenly you have a language which says "we're all stuck with whatever the whiniest coder wants".'
    3. Re:We've been cutting funding for this stuff... by Nemyst · · Score: 2

      It's definitely one of them. Here's a little piece of insight: most problems have more than one cause, and fixing one cause is better than not fixing any. Sometimes you can't fix all the causes, so your best bet is to fix the ones that you can.

      Over here, we've been having issues with public construction works. Due to budget slashing, more and more engineering is being outsourced to private firms. What this ended up doing is that at one point cities didn't have the internal knowledge and skills required to determine whether bids were realistic and weren't cutting corners or overcharging, which has led to a LOT of projects overrunning budgets (both time and money) dramatically or costing more than they should've. All of this to shave off what amounts to a few pennies in the grand scheme of things.

    4. Re:We've been cutting funding for this stuff... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      “Let me issue and control a nation’s money and I care not who writes the laws.” Mayer Amschel Rothschild

    5. Re:We've been cutting funding for this stuff... by CrimsonAvenger · · Score: 1, Funny

      Yet the federal budget is the largest its EVER BEEN, and the defcit is now well over 16 billion dollars

      "well over 16 billlion dollars"??

      Last I checked, the deficit is measured in TRILLIONs per year. A $16B deficit might be YESTERDAY'S deficit....

      --

      "I do not agree with what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it"
    6. Re:We've been cutting funding for this stuff... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Most of the increases have been debt servicing increases and social services increases with cosmetic decreases in key departments. It isn't rocket science. You borrow money. You have to pay interest.

    7. Re:We've been cutting funding for this stuff... by fritsd · · Score: 1

      You're right!
      Minor nitpick though: it's 16742 billion dollars at the moment, that's indeed well over 16 billion.
      It's easy to get confused, because your 16 billion is how much your deficit grows per week.

      --
      To be, or not to be: isn't that quite logical, Slashdot Beta?
    8. Re:We've been cutting funding for this stuff... by dnaumov · · Score: 1

      since the 80s. It always amazes me when people are surprised that laws aren't enforced when we've been slashing the budgets of these 'evil bureaucratic' for 30 years. Funny how the bureaucratic ain't evil when he's doing something you want done, ain't it? Buddy of mine is getting screwed over in the only job he could find. Starts life as an ardent anti-bureaucratic guy until he goes looking for the labor board to seek redress and finds out there isn't one.

      Slashing budgets of border control agencies? What planet do you live on cause it sure ain't Earth?

    9. Re:We've been cutting funding for this stuff... by Anubis+IV · · Score: 1

      There's a big difference between "not being able to do the job" and "not doing the job". Microsoft is accusing them of the latter, and they're not the only ones to do so.

    10. Re:We've been cutting funding for this stuff... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Minor nitpick: don't confuse deficit with total accumulated debt.

    11. Re:We've been cutting funding for this stuff... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Fact is Obama might have it that low by now tax receipts up.
      The rich making money hand over fist is fixing the recession hole his type tried to exploit.

    12. Re:We've been cutting funding for this stuff... by fritsd · · Score: 1

      hehe... oops...

      --
      To be, or not to be: isn't that quite logical, Slashdot Beta?
    13. Re:We've been cutting funding for this stuff... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The Funding for many Law Enforcement efforts has been cut drastically over the last decade.

      The deficit is measured in Billions - being projected at about 600 Billion in 2013.
      Down from a record 1600 Billion the day Obama was sworn into office, which he is always blamed for, but as I said, it was that high the
      day he took the oath of office - inherited from the Bush Administration who had not vetoed a single spending bill until half way through his
      seventh year in office. Yea - that's fiscal conservatism for you.

      The National Debt, is measured in TRILLIONS of dollars, and now sits at plus 16 Trillion.
      Had Obama simply kept in place the spending that he inherited from the Bush Administration - the debt would be several trillion dollars HIGHER.
      The National Dept has RISEN under every single Republican Administration in modern Times.
      The National Debt MORE THAN DOUBLED under George W. Bush, in his 8 years in office.
      The National Debt has gone up by only 50% under Obama in his 5 years, despite claims that it has doubled by Right Wing Media.

    14. Re:We've been cutting funding for this stuff... by lsatenstein · · Score: 1

      It's definitely one of them. Here's a little piece of insight: most problems have more than one cause, and fixing one cause is better than not fixing any. Sometimes you can't fix all the causes, so your best bet is to fix the ones that you can.

      Over here, we've been having issues with public construction works. Due to budget slashing, more and more engineering is being outsourced to private firms. What this ended up doing is that at one point cities didn't have the internal knowledge and skills required to determine whether bids were realistic and weren't cutting corners or overcharging, which has led to a LOT of projects overrunning budgets (both time and money) dramatically or costing more than they should've. All of this to shave off what amounts to a few pennies in the grand scheme of things.

      And in the province of Quebec, its even worse. The elected governments dipped into the contract awarded funds to the tune of 3%. Ergo, contracts had 3% added to their cost as an illegal funding of political parties. Moreover, Cruise ship vacations and golf tournaments in far away vacation resources insured that the contracts would only be divided between a select few companies. These companies got together and decided the winners, losers and the next go-arounders.

      --
      Leslie Satenstein Montreal Quebec Canada
  12. News at 11 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Informative

    Giant douchebag US megacorp calls out anoother giant douchebag US megacorp for being giant douchebags. Free world doesn't care, wherever that is. Next up, the weather.

  13. Customs response by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Dear Microsoft,

    We have confidential information that drugs are being smuggled inside your products, therefore moving forward we are disassembling every microsoft product being imported to check for banned substances.

    Sincerely

    US Customs.

  14. If you're not invited, it's secret? by Overzeetop · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Just because someone doesn't voluntarily invite you to a meeting does not mean that it's secret.

    I think, "United States Customs has met with Google representatives to allow imports of Motorola devices" is more accurate.

    --
    Is it just my observation, or are there way too many stupid people in the world?
    1. Re:If you're not invited, it's secret? by geminidomino · · Score: 1

      That's what I was thinking. "If they're secret meetings, how does MS know that they happened?"

      It was fun thinking of Ballmer hunched over a keyboard in the dark, face pale in the light of an old CRT that spilled onto the painted-cinderblock wall behind him and gleaming on the tinfoil wrapped round his head as he punched furiously on the keyboard as he tried to convince an X-Files newsgroup "I'M TELLING YOU! It's happening!!!!1!"

  15. Except that is not what happened by tuppe666 · · Score: 1

    Giant douchebag US megacorp calls out anoother giant douchebag US megacorp for being giant douchebags. Free world doesn't care, wherever that is. Next up, the weather.

    Nothing like as close. Aged PC dinosaur and convicted monopoly successfully got a new PC companies hardware products effectively banned for using patents that allow interacting with its own proprietary software. It did so by only *one* patent of nine being upheld.

    This is about that ban not being upheld...and the claims of deals being done behind closed doors with of all people the US customs. So nothing like you said.

  16. Incomplete information by Anonymous+Psychopath · · Score: 4, Informative

    TFA fails to mention that the ITC ruling provides a 60-day review period, during which Moto posts a bond of $0.33 per device imported. That period expires Monday. So far they've not done anything wrong. They could simply stop importing those models prior to Monday, surrender the bond, and be in full compliance with the ITC order.

    --

    Eagles may soar, but weasels don't get sucked into jet engines.

    1. Re:Incomplete information by sandytaru · · Score: 1

      But then Microsoft wouldn't have anything to whine about.

      --
      Occasionally living proof of the Ballmer peak.
    2. Re:Incomplete information by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "+5 Informative"?!?! -- Seriously? What article were you idiots reading?

      I ask because the article linked in the summary quite plainly says:

      The official import ban was actually established more than one year ago, in May 2012

      Yes, that's right, May of TWENTY-FUCKING-TWELVE . By my count, that's over FOUR-HUNDRED days ago...

      So how exactly would "a 60 day review period" cover them till Monday, July 15, 2013?!

      -AC

    3. Re:Incomplete information by Anubis+IV · · Score: 1

      You're off by a year. The 60-day period expired in July 2012. Which was 60 days after the ban went into effect, back in May 2012.

      Also, that stuff you mentioned wasn't in the article. It was in an article that was linked from the article. This one, to be precise, which is clearly timestamped "May 18, 2012 2:34 PM PDT".

      So yeah, they may very well be doing something wrong, since that 60-day period expired quite awhile ago.

    4. Re:Incomplete information by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      LoL -- you must be from the Department of Redundancy!

    5. Re:Incomplete information by recoiledsnake · · Score: 2

      That period expired last year. Post anything anti-MS, get upvoted on Slashdot regardless of truth. This site is a joke.

      --
      This space for rent.
    6. Re:Incomplete information by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      No, Microsoft is the joke. You just don't get it yet.

    7. Re:Incomplete information by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      As an Exchange admin, I can assure you that Google is still supporting ActiveSync quite thoroughly in their phones -- whether or not Google Mail supports it as an interface on the backend is another story. The article you linked was about people pairing their phones with Google Mail, not with Android devices.

  17. Sue Microsoft by ikhider · · Score: 2

    For antitrust, spying on their users, putting back doors in their software and cloud products, forcing non-Windows uers to pay the Windows tax (Even though the EULA says we don't have to have it, they put the onus on manufacturers who do not honor the refund policy, thereby conveniently denying us our rights), giving kickbacks to manufacturers, for implementing insecureboot, for providing a substandard operating system, for inhibiting competition at every turn...this is just for starters,

    --
    "SO we bide our time, waiting for a purer kick to bloom and the future is still bleak, uncertain and beautiful" -GSYBE
    1. Re:Sue Microsoft by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      For antitrust,

      Yeah they got busted for antitrust.. but .. sue them for antitrust? .. what does that even...

      , spying on their users,

      Microsoft gains nothing by spying on users. They __ALREADY__ got paid. They don't care if you don't use their product as long as they get paid upfront. Google on the other hand... DIDNT get paid upfront. So they have something to gain by spying. Which they do... all automated ofcource.

      putting back doors in their software and cloud products,

      A backdoor you say..

      What backdoor in software? You seem to know about it so much. Tell me a single tool that can directly log into a remote windows PC bypassing authentication or whatnot after a fresh + fully patched windows install (pick one - XP,Vista,7,8). Go on.. its a challenge

      , forcing non-Windows uers to pay the Windows tax

      So buy from a manufacturer that does not pre-install an OS. Or build one yourself. I thought this website was for nerds/geeks.

      giving kickbacks to manufacturers

      False. You will not find a single citation that comes from actual evidence anytime in recent history. (i.e. after the antitrust trial)

      , for implementing insecureboot,

      Um... sued for implementing an EFI standard created by AMD, Apple, Dell, HP, IBM, Lenovo, Microsoft, Phoenix, etc etc ?

      for providing a substandard operating system,

      I think I would like to sue the GNOME 3 developers then...

      If you don't like Windows

      1> dont buy it

      2> dont use it

      3> buy a mac

      4> buy a pre built linux pc

      5> build a pc and install linux on it
       

      for inhibiting competition at every turn...this is just for starters,

      for starters.. you mean like the hallucinogen you popped before spewing that nonsense? If that was for starters.. whats next?

    2. Re:Sue Microsoft by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Does the 'corporation, microsoft' pay taxes in the USA? Isn't it a fact they are set up in Ireland so they can avoid US taxes? And don't they have to have permission to sue the US government like everybody else? Who gave them permission to do that?

      Sum 10 WONG HERE

  18. Phones enjoying H-1B status too! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Hey Microsof, maybe the Motorla phones are enjoying H-1B status too! Shut-up and feel the pain!

  19. really? by slashmydots · · Score: 1

    So Google thought maybe MS would simply forget about it and not pay any attention to whether or not the injunction was being followed? Riiiight. Shocker, now they're suing.

  20. Re:Can we just kill all the people in charge? by tqk · · Score: 1

    Are you asking for permission, or trying to hire assassins?

    --
    "Tongue tied and twisted, just an Earth bound misfit ..." -- Pink Floyd.
  21. Deficit != Debt by rsilvergun · · Score: 1

    See here.

    --
    Hi! I make Firefox Plug-ins. Check 'em out @ https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/youtube-mp3-podcaster/
  22. no one ever won a war with their customers by Presto+Vivace · · Score: 1

    after a while open source operating systems will be the less annoying choice.

  23. Phones aren't your brain on drugs. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    It's illegal to possess weed in the USA.
    It is NOT illegal to possess a phone in the USA, even if it's one that is blocked for import.

    It IS illegal to *IMPORT* a phone whose importation is banned, but it is NOT illegal to come into the country having bought one.
    Please do not attempt to think again, you haven't the equipment for it.

    1. Re:Phones aren't your brain on drugs. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It IS illegal to *IMPORT* a phone whose importation is banned, but it is NOT illegal to come into the country having bought one.

      Lmao -- Try again idiot; bringing ANYTHING into the Country that you acquired outside of it, is, BY DEFINITION, importation. Period. Full-Stop.

      But, by way of trying to bring some enlightenment into your darkend headspace, here's another example that more closely parallels your idiotic comment:

      You can legally possess grapefruits, pomegranates and oranges in the US, but TRY bringing some in through Customs from a foreign country, and they'll happily relieve you of your fruit. Why? because importation of citrus products (like these cell phones) is also illegal! (though, for a different reason) -- Importation Advisory: Citrus Fruit May Not Be Brought Into the United States

      Welcome to the rodeo goofball...

      -AC

    2. Re:Phones aren't your brain on drugs. by Zmobie · · Score: 1

      Actually, while your examples are technically correct, your reasoning is not. I have personally brought beer to the US from Canada that was not a product that is licensed to be imported into the US and had the customs guy not give one single solitary fuck. I have seen other people do the same thing with other alcohols that are not supposed to be imported to the US by license and guess what? They again did not care. In one case the guy brought like 3 fucking cases of rum from the Carribbean into one of the states with the most notoriously strict alcohol laws for importation, sale, consumption, etc. (I won't say which) and he didn't even pay duties on it because the customs people really don't care.

      There are restrictions on what one can bring into the country and import into the country, but they are by far not the same. In fact many laws at the lower level for CBP specifically were passed so that individuals could bring things back from other countries (within reason) without having to be subjected to the same laws as a company doing imports. They do in fact view possession and possession with intent to sell completely different. If a person brings something into the country under the guise of personal use and then tries to sell it, that no longer falls under the responsibilities of the CBP.

      The example you cite is probably for a different reason, as anything brought into the US like citrus fruits are subject to checking for certain types of pests and diseases that could seriously damage the ecosystem in the US. They also have restrictions on other things with it, but it definitely isn't just because it is somehow illegal to possess citrus fruits.

  24. Outdated and misleading post... by recoiledsnake · · Score: 1

    . Google have dropped activesync.http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2413283,00.asp (Anyone else forgot how pro Microsoft PCmag was)

    The most ironic part of this Windows Phone users used to get gmail messages instantaneously...and now they don't...like Windows Phone was not already second class technology.

    Outdated news... Google has dropped nothing.

    "Google Extends Windows Phone Exchange ActiveSync Support Until July"

    http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2414917,00.asp

    Microsoft announced today that Google has agreed to delay the removal of support for Microsoft's Exchange ActiveSync protocol (Google Sync) until July.
    In the meantime, Microsoft said it is working to build support for the protocols Google will be using going forward, meaning Windows Phone users will still be able to connect to Google services.

    Please stop twisting facts or posting misleading stories to further your agenda. Your entire post is bunk.

    --
    This space for rent.