Regulators back EC Microsoft ruling
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I admire your style quite a bit, but not enough to change my opinion. :) Let me ask this: how many successful lawsuits must there be against Microsoft for you to decide that they may be doing something illegal? I mean, Microsoft has ace lawyers and they're still losing these lawsuits, with the whole world watching. There's no funny business going on, no extortion scam; it's just that they're being found over and over to conduct illegal activity. I'll allow that no legal system is perfect, and some laws should be changed; you must eventually agree at least on the illegality of Microsoft's actions. Regards, Jeff Varszegi
You have a point but I have yet to hear any group, government, or other interests say that they will not allow Microsoft to do business in their area. IMO, Microsoft is at the top for a good reason: because no other company has produced such well accepted software. This is not to say that it is the best software there is but at the very least Microsoft has been much more successful on the marketing front.
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Apartently you've never worked as a network administrator. When creating unattended builds for Windows NT (including 2000, XP, and 2003), you can force much of that to not install. You can also set up group policies and installer packages to either remove it (there is a way, just not through Add/Remove Programs) or disable it. The point is all about "choices". Many people argue that users aren't given choices because stuff comes bundled with the OS. When an OS like Windows has 80% or more of the desktop share and 80% of those people don't care and just want something that works, they don't want choices (ever worked with lusers or parents/grandparents like that?). 100% of all people do have the choice to install something else. Another problem in the raging debate (which have followed very closely over the years) is not so much the player application as it is the tie-in with Windows. Take the video preview screen in the Details section of the Windows Explorer on XP. It currently uses Windows Media Player. The fact is that companies - like Real - can integrate their players to do similar things (in the example provided, however, there is not currently a way). They must implement certain COM interfaces or write their codecs to work with any application that uses Windows codecs. When writing any application, you need a contract by which programs abide in order to use them without knowing the source. This is a universal truth. Sometimes a layer is used to generate contracts (like WSDL), but it still comes down to contracts for ubiquitous use. Many of the tie-ins for Windows are documented, but many companies don't implement them. Don't expect government types to understand this, though. The fact that MSHTML and the WebBrowser control (which hosts and provides services to MSHTML) is integrated into the shell means that Windows Explorer and Internet Explorer are seemless. If Mozilla would've licensed COM from Microsoft (instead of writing their own, though very similar) then the question of integrating Mozilla (Gecko engine) into the shell might be a valid concern, but since Mozilla doesn't abide by a common contract (i.e., interfaces), there's no possible way they could do it. Do you expect Microsoft to use any web browser with some sort of artificial intelligence to make it work? Get real. So the debate over the years has been about choices. While such people claim that it's for the users benefit, it's not. Look at the companies pushing for such legislation or funding activist groups. In almost every case it's
Heath Stewart wrote: So the debate over the years has been about choices. While such people claim that it's for the users benefit, it's not. Look at the companies pushing for such legislation or funding activist groups. In almost every case it's about business and loosing profits, not the consumer. While I don't doubt at all that these lawsuits are probably not about customers.. there are many a business who can't compete because they have inferior products, not because the OS is stamping them out. But customers do have legitimate concerns. Could I install Windows without all of the crap that I don't want? Maybe, by going through excruciating pains, but since so much is "part of the OS", I can't be sure. If a security issue comes up with IE, even if I use Mozilla all the time, it is still an issue for me becuase IE is part of the OS. If I simply want to use something different, I can, but if I want to completely get rid of some of those so-called OS components, many times I cannot. And while often there are well-defined, published ways of linking applications into the OS, many times there aren't... or there are, but Microsoft also provides a better, undocumented way to link its own stuff in. If they didn't have a 95% share of the desktop OS market, that would be fine. But as it is, it means third-party applications will always be a step behind. Remember, even if you win the rat race, you're still a rat.
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Michael P Butler wrote: I don't understand this. What are we missing? The EU is flexing their arms to try to force Microsoft to go open-source. Whatever your stance on open source is, it takes money to put food on the table and a roof over your head. Trying to force a company to be open source when they do have their IP to protect (what they spends $$$ in R&D) is wrong. I mean, why buy the milk when you can get the cow for free? Most companies built on OSS have gone down the toilet. It's only big businesses like IBM with other sources of captial that can afford to open some of their code. What the EU is trying to do is to change the fundamental basis of business since the dawn of capitalism, but what do you expect from a socialist government?
Microsoft MVP, Visual C# My Articles
Heath Stewart wrote: I mean, why buy the milk when you can get the cow for free? I know what you're sayin', man! I've been buying milk by the gallon, trying to make it into some sort of curdled milk cow... but it just ain't the same. Ah, if only someone would give me a free cow... :sigh: How do you move in a world of fog, That's always changing things? Makes me wish that i could be a dog, When i see the price that you pay.
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How will MS get our of this [^] one? Success has its price, bunch of leaches attach to you. Only good news is that Microsoft will appeal, and the process can take three years. But that is still to debate. Mike M WinInsider.com - News for Microsoftonians
Microsoft will deal with this the way it always does leverage its huge size to its advantage. BTW I don't see any reaction to this on the stock exchange
My neighbours think I am crazy - but they don't know that I have a trampoline. All they see my head bobbing up and down over the fence every five seconds
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Heath Stewart wrote: So the debate over the years has been about choices. While such people claim that it's for the users benefit, it's not. Look at the companies pushing for such legislation or funding activist groups. In almost every case it's about business and loosing profits, not the consumer. While I don't doubt at all that these lawsuits are probably not about customers.. there are many a business who can't compete because they have inferior products, not because the OS is stamping them out. But customers do have legitimate concerns. Could I install Windows without all of the crap that I don't want? Maybe, by going through excruciating pains, but since so much is "part of the OS", I can't be sure. If a security issue comes up with IE, even if I use Mozilla all the time, it is still an issue for me becuase IE is part of the OS. If I simply want to use something different, I can, but if I want to completely get rid of some of those so-called OS components, many times I cannot. And while often there are well-defined, published ways of linking applications into the OS, many times there aren't... or there are, but Microsoft also provides a better, undocumented way to link its own stuff in. If they didn't have a 95% share of the desktop OS market, that would be fine. But as it is, it means third-party applications will always be a step behind. Remember, even if you win the rat race, you're still a rat.
Navin wrote: but Microsoft also provides a better, undocumented way to link its own stuff in. Despite this accusation being thrown around, in the fifteen years I've been programming Windows, I've yet to seen it actually proven. The closest I've seen were APIs that were clearly hacks in early alpha builds, but for which an API published prior to release (and the developers never removed the old call, either because they forgot, or they had to so much hack the hack that simple replacement wasn't.) Anyone who thinks he has a better idea of what's good for people than people do is a swine. - P.J. O'Rourke
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Microsoft will deal with this the way it always does leverage its huge size to its advantage. BTW I don't see any reaction to this on the stock exchange
My neighbours think I am crazy - but they don't know that I have a trampoline. All they see my head bobbing up and down over the fence every five seconds
JWood wrote: BTW I don't see any reaction to this on the stock exchange Most investors have already factored the loss into the stock price. (It's been clear from the beginning that Microsoft was going to lose the case, the only question has been what the penalty would be. Investors have decided that at this point, it really doesn't matter.) Anyone who thinks he has a better idea of what's good for people than people do is a swine. - P.J. O'Rourke
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Navin wrote: but Microsoft also provides a better, undocumented way to link its own stuff in. Despite this accusation being thrown around, in the fifteen years I've been programming Windows, I've yet to seen it actually proven. The closest I've seen were APIs that were clearly hacks in early alpha builds, but for which an API published prior to release (and the developers never removed the old call, either because they forgot, or they had to so much hack the hack that simple replacement wasn't.) Anyone who thinks he has a better idea of what's good for people than people do is a swine. - P.J. O'Rourke
That's the thing, it's very difficult to prove (or disprove.) However I do know I've seen *lots* of undocumented functions in MFC. Fortunatley since it comes with source, those can be found and figured out. I've also seen (and once even been recommended to use!) undocumented Windows messages. So based on that information, it would surprise me greatly if there weren't undocumented APIs. (Microsoft won't deny that it uses undocumented APIs... that doesn't mean that it does, but it makes you wonder..) Of course, lots of that kind of stuff is *poorly* documented, but that's another subject matter altogether. :rolleyes: Remember, even if you win the rat race, you're still a rat.
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How will MS get our of this [^] one? Success has its price, bunch of leaches attach to you. Only good news is that Microsoft will appeal, and the process can take three years. But that is still to debate. Mike M WinInsider.com - News for Microsoftonians
I liked this quote: '"We spend millions of dollars trying to reverse-engineer Windows so as to allow our server software to work with it", said Lee Patch, Sun's vice president for legal affairs.' Something about the guy in charge of legal maneuvering being named Patch strikes me as funny :laugh:.
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Jeff Varszegi wrote: I'll allow that no legal system is perfect, and some laws should be changed; you must eventually agree at least on the illegality of Microsoft's actions. Honestly, I've always seen a leading innovator being attacked because it's the front runner and therefore most worth attacking. It's just like formula 1 racing. Ferrari is the dominant team and has been for several years now. I'm not a fan of Ferrari, but I would not accept any rule changes that are contemplated specifically to force Ferrari to do worse and "level" the playing field. It's up to the other teams to pick up their game. That's the heart of a free democratic capitalist society.
There is much to be said in favor of modern journalism. By giving us the opinions of the uneducated, it keeps us in touch with the ignorance of the community. - Oscar WildeYou presuppose a motive that doesn't exist. You should support this or give it up. The government has nothing to gain by attacking Microsoft. Can you name another case in which the government just decided to go after the most successful company in an industry for the fun of it? Someone who wasn't monopolizing, I mean? Let me ask you this: are you saying that the rulings against Microsoft are without merit? I mean, are they illegal? You realize that if you say yes, you're going against an entire justice system full of legal experts, don't you? All because you believe that Microsoft COULDN'T POSSIBLY have done anything illegal. I qualify your belief as a religion. Regards, Jeff Varszegi
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JWood wrote: BTW I don't see any reaction to this on the stock exchange Most investors have already factored the loss into the stock price. (It's been clear from the beginning that Microsoft was going to lose the case, the only question has been what the penalty would be. Investors have decided that at this point, it really doesn't matter.) Anyone who thinks he has a better idea of what's good for people than people do is a swine. - P.J. O'Rourke
Which is another way of saying that this is a done deal, and the current event we are blabering is just a formality.
My neighbours think I am crazy - but they don't know that I have a trampoline. All they see my head bobbing up and down over the fence every five seconds
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You have a point but I have yet to hear any group, government, or other interests say that they will not allow Microsoft to do business in their area. IMO, Microsoft is at the top for a good reason: because no other company has produced such well accepted software. This is not to say that it is the best software there is but at the very least Microsoft has been much more successful on the marketing front.
IMO, Microsoft is at the top for a good reason: because no other company has produced such well accepted software. Circular reasoning: they're at the top because they're at the top. Their software is the most well-accepted because they produce the most well-accepted software. Regards, Jeff Varszegi
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Navin wrote: Ack - logic error: if it is a part of the OS, then *by definition* they are forcing you to use it. Sigh! If your car comes with an ashtray are you forced to smoke? *That's* logical.
There is much to be said in favor of modern journalism. By giving us the opinions of the uneducated, it keeps us in touch with the ignorance of the community. - Oscar WildeTrue, true. Still, my ashtray won't open the door when a hijacker approaches the car. Regards, Jeff Varszegi
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How will MS get our of this [^] one? Success has its price, bunch of leaches attach to you. Only good news is that Microsoft will appeal, and the process can take three years. But that is still to debate. Mike M WinInsider.com - News for Microsoftonians
If I was Microsoft I'd withdraw all software, hardware and public funding programs from European countries and see how quickly the EC change their minds. 30 percent is a risk, but I'm sure they could find other areas still untapped. "We spend millions of dollars trying to reverse-engineer Windows so as to allow our server software to work with it, said Lee Patch, Sun's vice president for legal affairs. "That's innovation wasted. We have no choice but to spend time in this way to offer an acceptable product to the consumer," he added. Well boo hoo hoo. I mean come on, talk about little kiddies crying "unfair" in the playground. Going slighlty off topic, any PC that enters my house with RealPlayer pre-installed will be returned as faulty under the warranty. Just what we need, another dependancy to check and another version of Windows to support. :sigh:
David Wulff The Royal Woofle Museum
Putting the laughter back into slaughter
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Mike.NET wrote: How will MS get our of this [^] one? Bribery tends to work best with European Commissioners ;-) Instead of bundling the program into its Windows operating system as Microsoft does at present, the Commission is expected to demand that the company sells two versions of Windows to PC manufacturers: one with Media Player and one with the program stripped out. Hmm. Guess which version will sell more. What at stupid idea! Best plan. Make MS ship the Real Codec and any other of the big media streamers who are whining. (It'll mean I don't need to install that spyware crap just to view / listen to stuff on the BBC web-site.) the Commission also wants to force Microsoft to share enough secret code in Windows with rivals in order to allow them to design server software that works as smoothly with the ubiquitous operating system as Microsoft's own server software. I don't understand this. What are we missing? Michael But you know when the truth is told, That you can get what you want or you can just get old, Your're going to kick off before you even get halfway through. When will you realise... Vienna waits for you? - "The Stranger," Billy Joel
Michael P Butler wrote: Best plan. Make MS ship the Real Codec and any other of the big media streamers who are whining. (It'll mean I don't need to install that spyware crap just to view / listen to stuff on the BBC web-site.) Nice idea! Shame it will never happen. :( I am fed up of not being able to preview tracks by my favourite bands or watch web casts on the beeb sites because they insist of using Real crap. However did they get any market share?
David Wulff The Royal Woofle Museum
Putting the laughter back into slaughter
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Michael P Butler wrote: Best plan. Make MS ship the Real Codec and any other of the big media streamers who are whining. (It'll mean I don't need to install that spyware crap just to view / listen to stuff on the BBC web-site.) Nice idea! Shame it will never happen. :( I am fed up of not being able to preview tracks by my favourite bands or watch web casts on the beeb sites because they insist of using Real crap. However did they get any market share?
David Wulff The Royal Woofle Museum
Putting the laughter back into slaughter
David Wulff wrote: I am fed up of not being able to preview tracks by my favourite bands or watch web casts on the beeb sites because they insist of using Real crap. You need a Real Alternative (and the exceptionally classy Media Player Classic) ;) How do you move in a world of fog, That's always changing things? Makes me wish that i could be a dog, When i see the price that you pay.
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David Wulff wrote: I am fed up of not being able to preview tracks by my favourite bands or watch web casts on the beeb sites because they insist of using Real crap. You need a Real Alternative (and the exceptionally classy Media Player Classic) ;) How do you move in a world of fog, That's always changing things? Makes me wish that i could be a dog, When i see the price that you pay.
Sounds cool, but what is this Media Player Classic thing? [edit] NM, I'm just not all here tonight. :rolleyes: :-O
David Wulff The Royal Woofle Museum
Putting the laughter back into slaughter
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Mike.NET wrote: How will MS get our of this [^] one? Bribery tends to work best with European Commissioners ;-) Instead of bundling the program into its Windows operating system as Microsoft does at present, the Commission is expected to demand that the company sells two versions of Windows to PC manufacturers: one with Media Player and one with the program stripped out. Hmm. Guess which version will sell more. What at stupid idea! Best plan. Make MS ship the Real Codec and any other of the big media streamers who are whining. (It'll mean I don't need to install that spyware crap just to view / listen to stuff on the BBC web-site.) the Commission also wants to force Microsoft to share enough secret code in Windows with rivals in order to allow them to design server software that works as smoothly with the ubiquitous operating system as Microsoft's own server software. I don't understand this. What are we missing? Michael But you know when the truth is told, That you can get what you want or you can just get old, Your're going to kick off before you even get halfway through. When will you realise... Vienna waits for you? - "The Stranger," Billy Joel
Michael P Butler wrote: Make MS ship the Real Codec Real don't have a codec, because they want you to use their crappy player rather than any other player you might want to use. The same goes for QuickTime. I guess they assume that you won't pay them money for a bare codec. Neither manufacturer will license their algorithms and formats to Microsoft for inclusion in WMP. Microsoft does license the WMA and WMV formats. Having said that, I found Ace Media Player[^] yesterday, that uses Real and Apple's proprietary APIs to load their player engines if you have them installed. You can play all formats in it. I was actually after the taskbar-player feature that's oddly missing from Windows Media Player, but there you go... It's kind of ironic that the case is supposed to be about promoting open standards and formats, and yet the main beneficiaries will be those who have proprietary formats. Stability. What an interesting concept. -- Chris Maunder