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Microsoft Buys Into Taiwanese Broadband ISP
vivekb writes " C|Net reports that Microsoft and Hoshin GigaMedia Centre, Taiwan's cable ISP, will be jointly providing broadband services. The two companies will create a broadband version of MSN, financed by a rumored $31.5 million dollar investment by Microsoft to GigaMedia. The network runs on Microsoft's Commercial Internet Services platform.
GigaMedia is part of Taiwan's giant conglomerate, the Koos Group, and [originally] partnered with 3Com to introduce their cable modem service."
With Microsoft possibly being broken up into smaller companies, investing in other simmiliar companies may not be the worst thing for ms. If they get their foot in the door now with these other companies, if they get broken up they can still influence technology and consumers and thus still being able sell their products sucessfully
Well thats what iThink anyway
Someday, we'll look back on this, laugh nervously and change the subject.
"To help speed the roll-out of this new service, Microsoft will make an investment in GigaMedia, which is already providing high-speed Internet access to businesses and homes. Although the companies did not release details of the investment, Taiwanese media reports have said Microsoft was considering investing U.S. $31.5 million in GigaMedia"
"'Gigamedia was an early adapter of the Microsoft Commercial Internet Services platform. Since April 1998, Microsoft has been providing technical support for GigaMedia."
Note the two facts about most MS deals. MS usually ponies up the money and/or the partner and MS have a long term alliance.
I understand the nice thing about having high speed internet accesss esp wireless. What you have to rember that this is not knew and is already established in the UK (see www.tele2.co.uk). I mean what I would like to know is the operating frequency as from what little I know there is a very small number of frequencys you can actually use for this type of thing and the higher the frequency the harder is is to do rusty at geo597 dot demon dot co dot uk
...were doing a great job, producing great hardware, until an incompetent american company stick their noses in other people's businesses and ruin everything. Ban Microsoft out of Taiwan right now!
I really do believe that the rise of Linux poses a fundamental problem for MS: how do you compete against something which is a lot cheaper (ie: free!) and is good enough? Remember that MS didn't win because they were the best; they won because they were good enough (and because of the fact that IBM basically gave them a monopoloy on a silver platter). I also believe, that Linux will find it's inroads onto the desktop, although the move will be a slow one.
... yes, it's hard to fight a compnay that has more than 20 billion dollars in the bank ...
Enter MS, buying up what seem poised to become software distribution channels in the next century. If they can manage to create MS exclusive distribution channels, than the whole war about the PC market will be a phyrric victory and we're back to squre one. Linux (and all other alternative OSs) will only be attractive to the users if it's available through the dominant distribution channels.
Then again, with Judge Jackson's FoF, there is hope. At least now it's official that they are a monopoly and abused their position to keep others out of the market. Previous encounters with the justice department ended with MS getting slapped on the wrist; lets hope that this time they are not let off so easily. Still, their aquisition spree worries me
..and think about buying a country instead. After all Bills $60 odd billion is greater than the GDP of a number of countries, and Microsofts $500 billion odd share value must certainly provide enough purchasing power.
He should find a suitable sized island, move all the MS people there and declare himslf King Bill. Just think - no more DOJ judgements to worry about if you are head of the judiciary and the executive.
Donte Alistair Anderson Roberts - hi son!
Karma: Chameleon
You don't suppose the Taiwanese government encouraged this just to buy themselves some cheap insurance from the Chinese, do ya?
My uncle lives in Taiwan, and the country has changed much economically and technologically since the last fifty years. I'm Chinese myself and have family in both China and Taiwan. It's too sad that the Chinese government is so stubborn and self-centered. From my family I know that both Chinese and Taiwanese citizens have much discipline in education and really embrace technology, but are in different situations. My mom used to be a kindergarten-teacher in Beijing and my uncle a high-rank member of the Chinese Navy, but the government ruined everything and now my mom lives in Europe (like myself) and my uncle in Taiwan. I'm disappointed that very often the chinese people get criticism for what their unstoppable military government can do.
It is somehow understandable that they want to be able to control people when they are on the Internet from start to end in the US, but are they not taking it a bit far when they also want control over the people of TAIWAN? I mean, come on, Microsoft shouldn't be over there. This is really creepy, and I think it will only get worse...
Just because the submitter can't spell the name of the country doesn't mean you should follow suit, Rob. :o> It's "Taiwan." Please and thank you.
J.
damned vulpine
damned vulpine http://sb.drtwister.com/
you darn Armeicans gotta learn to spell.
With the Findings of Fact, I think this really turns out to be a dumb move on Microsoft's part. One of the things that Judge Jackson stressed the most in the decision (and I've read the entire thing) is that by attempting to control the Internet as a possible middleware platform, Microsoft was illegally protecting what he calls the applications barrier to entry.
This looks like yet another attempt for Microsoft to control the Internet, thus trying to keep as much of it as possible Internet Explorer/Windows-dependant, and thus control the applications barrier to entry in the Operating Systems market.
I found it very interesting that development of content was a part of this deal. I wonder how much of it will use "features" only found in Internet Explorer, like ActiveX. With the deals in the past that MS has made (with Disney, Pointcast, etc), I also wonder if there is actually a legal requirement in this deal for some Internet Explorer dependancy.
I wonder how the DOJ and Judge Jackson will react to this move when it comes time for the final decision in DOJ v. Microsoft. It definately doesn't look good to me. If anything, it seems to me that MS still feels they are invincible and can still do anything they want, even things that Judge Jackson specifically and expressly condemned. If Judge Jackson has any emotions, which with his being human is pretty likely, I wouldn't be surprised if he was pretty pissed off at MS right about now.
and right after all those big quakes, too!
;)
...against organized criminals expanding their empire like this.
In a way, I'm glad MS has been giving the DOJ and the government the finger.
All they're doing is prove they are a renegade, which will force the gov to clamp down on them that much harder in the penalty phase.
Why is it that every darn corner you turn this very anoying little itch appeares by the name of Gates . When we gunna close him up full stop like end fin ect .. Cheers
Microsoft is like a big parent, they have money, the smaller companies don't have alot, or need more to do what they want microsoft gives them money, the company does well, they both make money, and then microsoft screws them. Hmmm.. okay, lets not have Microsoft posts, ummm this has been up for a while, and only had 19 comments.... why are we wasting bandwidth/cpu usage for it? Oh heck why am I wasting time writting this? Its five o'clock somewhere, lets get a drink
There are roumors about an MS and T-Online joint venture. T-Online is the biggest ISP in Germany.
Article in german on Heise Online
Great. Now MS will just move in and define "slow" as the industry standard.........
--
And as always, LONG LIVE THE FSF!
Micro$oft is at it again. Buying and controlling everything in site. The techno-entroprenour's dream used to be to unseat microsoft from power. Now it is to be purchased by them. Depressing. Sure, in this case MS did not buy them. They only used their money to control them. "Be nice to MS and we will give you the world...otherwise we will crush you!"
I hope that they keep this kind of thing up because I think that their arrogance will prove to be their undoing. You can only thumb your nose at the law for so long before the law has enough. This will not be like the IBM case. MS seems to really believe that they are right. If they are right, why should they change (or at least soften) their business practices? The day of the big announcement of Findings of Fact also came an investment in Telligent by MS. Then came Hoshin GigaMedia Centre and RadioShack. It will be interesting to see how they try to appeal the judge's Findings of Fact in court while proving them in their business practices.
What do you all think? Will these type of actions affect their appeal process?
-- soldack