Our company recently sent this to Microsoft's "freedom to innovate" campaign.
Sir,
It is not only competitors who complain about Microsoft (Oliver Roll, Microsoft UK). There is a concerted campaign to obtain refunds for Windows licence owned but never used. When a consumer has no choice but to pay Microsoft a licence on every PC they buy regardless of whether they will use it, there is a problem with the operation of the free market.
Your assertion (on Microsoft.com) that Micrsoft's dominance of the PC operating system market was achieved through growth rather than entrenched position is hardly credible. Had Microsoft not had the blessing of IBM the PC market would have been very different.
Microsoft demands the freedom to innovate. They should be allowed this under the DoJ proposals. Given Microsoft's history of innovation, one has to ask why why they chose the word "innovate". Microsoft were late comers to the internet revolution, late comers to the GUI revolution, followers rather than leaders in the development of personal productivity software, web browsers, and web servers. Rather than create innovative products, Microsoft has a long tradition of either buying innovation (MS-DOS/QDOS, Hotmail, Internet Explorer/Mosaic) or copying it from competitors (Windows Media Player/Quick Time, the Windows GUI/MacOS, JScript/Javascript, Excel/Visicalc, Basic and Kerberos). If Microsoft were more open, they would demand the freedom to integrate, for this has been their greatest achievement.
Our company is displeased with Microsoft's constant changing of "open standards", specifically HTML 4 and Java. Our development cycles are lengthened by having to adhere both to Microsoft's standards and open standards. Until Microsoft support open standards on all platforms, we will be boycotting Microsoft software of the server platform, the only place where we have a choice.
One (expensive) solution would be to remove the offending comments from slashdot and set up servers outside US juristriction. This gets round the DMCA, though there may still be copyright issues wherever these servers relocate to.
Wherever it is, MS won't have the lobbying power it does in the US. If the US can't allow it's citizens free speech there's nothing stoping them seeking it elsewhere. Mexico anyone?
My gay friends call themselves "gay". Out of respect we use the term that they prefer. CBC call the Inuit the name they call themselves. It just seemed odd that hackers didn't get the same treatment.
Ironic the Candians came up with this article. What do they call Eskimos? The Inuit. Why? Because that's what the Inuit call themselves.
I'm from London. I hate it when Americans refer to me as British. I am not British. The only pople I've met that call themselves British are 1) Irish Prostestants 2) members of the British National Party. I'm English. Please refer to my tribe by it's own name.
Close intergration of Visual Basic to Outlook has cost millions over the past few days. Is this vulnertability wich allowed the ILOVEYOU worm to spread a bug or a feature? If it's a feature then there's no case to answer. Oh well, guess I'll just have to unistall Outlook. Can I have my money back now please Mr Gates, seeing as I don't use the software anymore?
By installing Windows and clicking the usual "I agree not to ever sue MS ever" I'd guess most victims aren't able to sue MS over the lack of security in Outlook.
How about owners of unix mailservers? Do we have a right, having not aggreed to the licence, to seek compensation for having our systems flooded due to Windows poor security?
If Windows were open sourced tomorrow... I'd probably go out and get a copy. I hate the software, but if there were a way to permantly dissable annoying paperclips, stupid UI elements and sloppy code that crashes even more often than my Mac, it wouldn't be a bad thing. But how long would it take to clean up all that code?
Not that I'd give it the chance to go anywhere my servers, but that's another story.
Just saw the guy on BBC news. If he were my professor I'd skip my classes. Sanctimonious creep. Why doesn't he sure British Telecom (a fuckign useless co. if ever there was one) for making Demon's servers accewsible over the local phone loop? Heck, or Tim Berners Lee for that matter. I can't belive I have to share a legal system with people like this.
Slashdot Mirror
Our company recently sent this to Microsoft's "freedom to innovate" campaign.
Sir,
It is not only competitors who complain about Microsoft (Oliver Roll, Microsoft UK). There is a concerted campaign to obtain refunds for Windows licence owned but never used. When a consumer has no choice but to pay Microsoft a licence on every PC they buy regardless of whether they will use it, there is a problem with the operation of the free market.
Your assertion (on Microsoft.com) that Micrsoft's dominance of the PC operating system market was achieved through growth rather than entrenched position is hardly credible. Had Microsoft not had the blessing of IBM the PC market would have been very different.
Microsoft demands the freedom to innovate. They should be allowed this under the DoJ proposals. Given Microsoft's history of innovation, one has to ask why why they chose the word "innovate". Microsoft were late comers to the internet revolution, late comers to the GUI revolution, followers rather than leaders in the development of personal productivity software, web browsers, and web servers. Rather than create innovative products, Microsoft has a long tradition of either buying innovation (MS-DOS/QDOS, Hotmail, Internet Explorer/Mosaic) or copying it from competitors (Windows Media Player/Quick Time, the Windows GUI/MacOS, JScript/Javascript, Excel/Visicalc, Basic and Kerberos). If Microsoft were more open, they would demand the freedom to integrate, for this has been their greatest achievement.
Our company is displeased with Microsoft's constant changing of "open standards", specifically HTML 4 and Java. Our development cycles are lengthened by having to adhere both to Microsoft's standards and open standards. Until Microsoft support open standards on all platforms, we will be boycotting Microsoft software of the server platform, the only place where we have a choice.
No reply as yet.
There's The Register too, and also Zdne t. Any publicity is good publicity, right?
One (expensive) solution would be to remove the offending comments from slashdot and set up servers outside US juristriction. This gets round the DMCA, though there may still be copyright issues wherever these servers relocate to.
Wherever it is, MS won't have the lobbying power it does in the US. If the US can't allow it's citizens free speech there's nothing stoping them seeking it elsewhere. Mexico anyone?
Danm right about the Indians.
My gay friends call themselves "gay". Out of respect we use the term that they prefer. CBC call the Inuit the name they call themselves. It just seemed odd that hackers didn't get the same treatment.
Ironic the Candians came up with this article. What do they call Eskimos? The Inuit. Why? Because that's what the Inuit call themselves.
I'm from London. I hate it when Americans refer to me as British. I am not British. The only pople I've met that call themselves British are 1) Irish Prostestants 2) members of the British National Party. I'm English. Please refer to my tribe by it's own name.
But when is a bug not a bug? When it's a feature?
Close intergration of Visual Basic to Outlook has cost millions over the past few days. Is this vulnertability wich allowed the ILOVEYOU worm to spread a bug or a feature? If it's a feature then there's no case to answer. Oh well, guess I'll just have to unistall Outlook. Can I have my money back now please Mr Gates, seeing as I don't use the software anymore?
By installing Windows and clicking the usual "I agree not to ever sue MS ever" I'd guess most victims aren't able to sue MS over the lack of security in Outlook.
How about owners of unix mailservers? Do we have a right, having not aggreed to the licence, to seek compensation for having our systems flooded due to Windows poor security?
Poor old House of Commons. Seems our beloved democracy has been bought to its knees by this one.
If Windows were open sourced tomorrow... I'd probably go out and get a copy. I hate the software, but if there were a way to permantly dissable annoying paperclips, stupid UI elements and sloppy code that crashes even more often than my Mac, it wouldn't be a bad thing. But how long would it take to clean up all that code?
Not that I'd give it the chance to go anywhere my servers, but that's another story.
khttpd - this is just stupid. Are we asking to get hacked?
IBM includes a kernel level web server in AIX. NT pulls some kernel level tricks. If you don't like it you can always disable it.
Just saw the guy on BBC news. If he were my professor I'd skip my classes. Sanctimonious creep. Why doesn't he sure British Telecom (a fuckign useless co. if ever there was one) for making Demon's servers accewsible over the local phone loop? Heck, or Tim Berners Lee for that matter. I can't belive I have to share a legal system with people like this.