Bonum Certa Men Certa

Stand Up Against Silverlight, Microsoft's Anti-competitive Weapon

Microsoft's abuse (exploitation) of the Olympics is something that was covered here before [1, 2, 3, 4]. It's a timely subject now that GNU/Linux users actively complain. The same old arguments and explanations need not be repeated, but here are some bits of interest for those who wish pursue or address this fiasco, which could be just the beginning of more. Even the Microsoft-obedient New York Times covered this problem:



Olympics Online, With a Hook



[...]

But for many industry executives who compete with Microsoft, the world’s largest software company, the Silverlight strategy recalls a federal antitrust case in which Microsoft was found guilty of using its market muscle to stifle competition from the Web.


Well, Microsoft's CEO considers GNU/Linux to be the #1 competitor, which he has already excluded from the European championship. As Groklaw has made very clear, Moonlight is out of the question and it's proof that Mono is "The Road To Hell". Sadly enough, people like de Icaza and companies like Novell stand in the way of regulators. They help Microsoft.

“If a broadcaster that affects you uses Silverlight, you should protest.”Formal complaints by industry giants have already been filed to tackle this and more such complaints continue to come.

Silverlight is about The Microsoft Web and antitrust lawsuits are in progress. Don't forget what Gates did to Netscape, very much deliberately and against the law. Video evidence is still up there for people to view and the clips are fortunately available as Ogg Theora, not Silverlight.

If a broadcaster that affects you uses Silverlight, you should protest. The authorities are rarely responsive, however, with a few exceptions. The likes of Rob Enderle poison their minds, so resistance is seen as extreme to those unaware of the long history of systematic abuse. Diplomats are an easy target.

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