Microsoft feels "sorry"
 

Here is a good read from The Inquirer:

Get the full story here:

Microsoft "sorry" for being anti-competitive

Richard

And if you want to read about all the other unpleasant behavour that has the good citizens of Minnesota (and a lot of other people) ticked off you can read their antitrust complaint here http://www.groklaw.net/article.php?s...40322034339981

For a legal document it is surprisingly clear and readable - guess the plain folk in Minnesota like to tell it as it is. It's a sorry tale of nearly two decades of greed, drive, overcharging and nastiness with sabotage of competitors at every turn of the way.

No one with any sense minds someone building a better mousetrap but to steal, bully, threaten and coerce so consistently hasn't in the end given us a better mousetrap, just a prettier one. Now at least more and more mice are seeing it for what it is and, what's more, growing teeth.

Depressingly, if M$ lose, all they will face are fines estimated around $100M which they can well afford to pay (from a war chest of several $Bn) and carry on regardless.

Mac (happily running SuSE 9.0)
Linux user #302442

Looks like the EU is actually trying to punish them now.

Reuters

goates

Yes, the propsed EU fine will surely strike fear in Microsoft.

It may be as large as 1% of their cash reserves.

How can they survive such a severe penalty?

Yes - but they may well also have to reveal the source code of Windows. That WILL hurt them - 'cos it's in Pascal.

PSP:)

... or it says

char copyright[] = "@(#) Copyright (c) 1983 Regents of the University of California.\n All rights reserved.\n";

:)

Appeals will drag on and on and give Microsoft time to define fairly clean interfaces that DO NOT reveal any of the important source code.

In the past they have managed to get monetary fines converted into giving software to schools, etc. This has two benefits to them:
1) Software licenses have a market value but cost them next to nothing, and
2) It further increases the market share of their products.

If you were teaching not-so-bright students something they could use in a job, free MS software would probably look more attractive than free Linux. And the threat of SCO suits against Linux users doesn't help at the moment.

Neat?

Ironically enough the BBC reports that:

Link

Just like everybody? :confused: :rolleyes:

I wonder if this will have any effect on the EU proceedings?

http://biz.yahoo.com/rc/040402/tech_sun_factbox_1.html

goates

Found this on another site.


Microsoft Windows: A thirty-two bit extension and graphical shell to a sixteen bit patch to an eight bit operating system originally coded for a four bit microprocessor, written by a two-bit company that can't stand one bit of competition.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Failure is not an option, it comes bundled right-in with the software.


sounds about right to me!. :}

:rolleyes: Interesting comment.

This two-bit company, were it a country, would have a GDP how many times larger than Australia's? :D

Had to be one in the bunch didn't there?.
OK, seeing as you didn't see the lighter, "tongue in cheek" side of the post, I'll point out the obvious for you.
I think you will find that when the company was refered to as a "two bit" company, it was refering to the companies morals and ethics....or rather, lack of them.... Strewth. :rolleyes:

Bill Gates not the richest man in the world anymore
 

look here

Will Micro$oft start selling Windoze in flatpacks ?