07.26.09
Posted in Asia, Courtroom, Finance, Microsoft, Windows at 6:34 am by Dr. Roy Schestowitz
“They’ll get sort of addicted, and then we’ll somehow figure out how to collect sometime in the next decade.”
–Bill Gates (in reference to China)
Summary: Microsoft brings lawsuits to the table in hopes of increasing revenue
Microsoft is now under great pressure to recover from economic problems [1, 2, 3]. Now perhaps is the time to “collect”, as the phrase as the top calls it.
This second phase in the predatory strategy actually began a while ago (lawsuits in China) and now we are seeing results. From The China Daily:
Microsoft wins piracy lawsuit
[...]
China’s Do-It-Yourself personal computer market has proven a chronic headache for Microsoft Corp, which is continually battling the use of pirated software.
But the US-based software giant won a skirmish this month, when a Beijing court ruled against a major custom PC dealer accused of pre-installing pirated Microsoft Windows and Office software.
As our reader Fewa puts it, they should refer to it as “copyright infringement”, not “piracy”.
“Given that Microsoft is borrowing money, it is difficult to tell just how badly it’s really doing.”“You get these long articles completely about copyright infringement but they don’t even mention the term,” he argues. “Instead [we hear] the BS about IPR and pirating, which 50 years ago meant the polar opposite of what it means today.”
Microsoft’s new business model seems to revolve around racketeering. Microsoft is threatening shops using the “IPR” card and it also does this to GNU/Linux users and vendors. Microsoft brings nothing to the table other than bullying.
Given that Microsoft is borrowing money, it is difficult to tell just how badly it’s really doing. Many people knew nothing about the company of Microsoft’s co-founder until it fell into $21.7 billion in debt and suddenly declared that it had filed for bankruptcy protection. From the news at Reuters:
Charter, which is controlled by Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O) co-founder Paul Allen, filed for bankruptcy protection in March, buckling under the weight of $21.7 billion in debt, but said at the time it had reached agreements with key stakeholders that would allow it to exit bankruptcy in a matter of months.
Quietly enough, $21.7 billion in debt, eh? Witness the marvels of the “Invisible Hand” and the “Free Market”. When it all fails, taxpayers will pay for it. █
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Posted in America, Antitrust, Finance, Law, Microsoft at 6:07 am by Dr. Roy Schestowitz
Summary: Another timely reminder of Microsoft’s anti-competitive behaviour and the toll it entails after proceedings at the court of law
AN ACTUAL CONVICTION of Microsoft is a rare sight because Microsoft tends to settle out of court and hide its embarrassments this way.
A month ago, Microsoft paid $100 million to settle in Mississippi (more in [1, 2]), but that’s not the end of it. Here is a new press release about another $40 million settlement, which was followed by extensive news coverage, e.g.:
i. Miss. cashes in on Microsoft settlement
The $40 million is the state government’s share of national anti-trust settlement with Microsoft. Another $60 million will come to the state in the vouchers to residents, businesses, governments and public schools.
ii. Hood signs $40M over to state treasury
Up to $60 million in vouchers will be provided to consumers, businesses, local governments and public schools to buy software and computers throughh Microsoft.
iii. State receives $40M Microsoft settlement
The Attorney General’s website will be updated as more information on the reimbursement becomes available.
It contains more information about the settlement and who is eligible. To review the most frequently asked questions in regard to the Microsoft settlement, go to www.agjimhood.com <http://www.agjimhood.com, look under “about” on the main page, and click on “Microsoft Settlement.”
At least it is not redeemable as software only. Such compensation would only help Microsoft rather than penalise. █
“Cash-strapped libraries that accept the millions Gates is waving at them may find themselves acting out the Microsoft billionaire’s dim vision of our electronic future. … Before they take anything from the chief executive, they’d better examine the gift very carefully for strings. After all, what sort of public libraries can we expect from a man who calls people ‘users’ and to whom War and Peace and Gilligan’s Island are both ‘content?’”
–Margie Wylie, C|Net
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Posted in Deception, FUD, GNU/Linux, Google, Microsoft at 5:50 am by Dr. Roy Schestowitz
Summary: Another large-scale abandonment of Microsoft; Seattle press lies about it
THERE IS some fairly significant news from New Zealand. The national post is moving on-line for many of its needs, which ought to ease a later migration to GNU/Linux on the desktops. Here is an explanation for the move.
While staff have document collaboration capability with today’s Microsoft products, Google Apps makes it easier to share a file, or for more than one person, in more than one place, to work on a document. Google Apps will also see NZ Post use IM and desktop video (again, also available in Microsoft iterations) for the first time.
Here are some numbers:
NZ Post unit to ditch Outlook, Exchange and probably SharePoint for 2,100 workers
This is one such blow among similar ones that we previously covered. Now that Microsoft suffers a rapid decline [1, 2, 3] (Google’s profits actually increased), Microsoft Watch wonders if Microsoft’s investment in a ‘Google killer’ will eventually be called off.
Will Microsoft Keep Backing Bing?
[...]
[O]nce the luster of the new wears off, it could potentially be a different story for Redmond. Only time will tell.
According to Murdoch’s Wall Street Journal, Google maintains its dominance on the Web.
Google Inc. (GOOG) continued to be the most visited Web site in June, with nearly 157 million U.S. visitors, according to comScore Inc. (SCOR).
As we showed before, Microsoft may be using its former employees to tell lies about adoption of Google Apps. We are finding more of the same behaviour in the news now that the Seattle-based Examiner spreads some more lies about Google Apps adoption. Watch how Sharon Slayton, the so-called “SF Microsoft Office Examiner”, changes the words of Google. According to the Telegraph, “Matthew Glotzback, director, Product Management, Google Enterprise, explained the decision on the company’s official blog: “More than 1.75 million companies around the world run their business on Google Apps, including Google.”
Now watch what Slayton at the Examiner is doing. She changes the word “companies” with “people”, then writes:
Are you one of the 1.75 million people using Google Apps to run your computer office needs? It’s a bit doubtful when you think about it – 1.75 million doesn’t even cover the Bay Area, let alone the rest of the U.S. It is a nice hefty number but it doesn’t come close to Microsoft’s Office domination. Will the Google Apps take over anytime soon?
Lying about it doesn’t make it go away, not even in the Seattle press. Google said “1.75 million companies”, not “1.75 million people”.
Many observers still wonder why the so-called ‘press’ should never be trusted. It is charged with agenda. █
“Everybody in the communications business is paranoid of Microsoft, including me.”
–News Corporation CEO Rupert Murdoch
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Posted in GNU/Linux, Microsoft, Office Suites, Windows at 5:15 am by Dr. Roy Schestowitz
Summary: The cause and the effect on Microsoft’s results
IT is bad enough that Microsoft’s profits fell by about a third [1, 2], but looking ahead at the next 3 months, there is no reason for optimism. There is no release of Windows, no release of Office, and no release of a next-generation anything. With stagnant activity, there is no reason to believe that next quarter’s results will be any better than the results of this quarter or the previous one. This is why it is safe to believe that Microsoft’s problems have only just begun.
As we shall show in the next post, GNU/Linux is not the only problem Microsoft is facing; GNU/Linux-powered SaaS is another major threat to Microsoft and even Microsoft Office will need to cannibalise itself by going on-line.
Looking at Microsoft’s results, here is what The Street has published:
Sorry folks, but Microsoft (MSFT Quote) ain’t what it once was. The software giant is losing its edge, as we saw with yesterday’s earnings report.
Other publications are equally dysphoric and The Seattle Times fears for the impact it may have on the local population.
The Seattle area has relied heavily on Microsoft to employ a whole generation of its smartest citizens — and noncitizens — at good pay. If it ceases growing, who is ready to take its place?
To name some notable reports on the subject (from Friday):
• Reuters: US STOCKS-Wall St falls on Microsoft results
• Reuters: Microsoft shares slip on disappointing results
• Market Watch: Microsoft shares drop after results disappoint
• Wall Street Journal: Microsoft Shares Decline On Disappointing Results
Shares of Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) fell as much as 11% Friday, erasing much of the company’s pre-earnings stock gains, after the software titan reported disappointing results for its fourth fiscal quarter because of a sharp slowdown in software sales.
One blogger opines that “Microsoft is dying.”
Microsoft is dying.
It seems to offer no innovation. Its operating systems aren’t sufficiently user-centric. About the only great product it sells – the Xbox – is so heavily subsidised the company loses money on the range.
What happens next remains to be seen. █
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Posted in Free/Libre Software, GNU/Linux, GPL, IBM, Kernel, Microsoft, Patents, Red Hat at 4:50 am by Dr. Roy Schestowitz
Summary: More analysis of Microsoft’s approach to competitors’ territory
WITH Microsoft’s poor financial results [1, 2], it ought to find itself glued to the corner. Carla from Linux Today explains why Richard Stallman’s GPL is probably the biggest winner in the news about Microsoft’s loadable module for Linux [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6]. Put simply, the GPL prevented exclusion and discrimination
This has been an amusing story for this week. In a nutshell, Microsoft got busted for a GPL violation. The developer who discovered this, Stephen Hemminger of Vyatta, chose to handle it thusly:
“Rather than creating noise, my goal was to resolve the problem, so I turned to Greg Kroah-Hartman. Since Novell has a (too) close association with Microsoft, my expectation was that Greg could prod the right people to get the issue resolved.”
It took over two years, but finally MS came into compliance and then released the source code with much fanfare and self-congratulations. It is a driver to enhance Linux guest performance on their Hyper-V virtualizer. There is a lot of good news in this story, but not of the kind that Microsoft wants us to believe.
[...]
They can’t even limit this to Novell SUSE Linux because it is GPL, and so any Linux distributor can tweak it to suit.
While Microsoft is not abusing with exclusion (as was intended, but simply was not allowed), the monopolist is still abusing with software patents. The other day we wrote about its renewed FUD against Red Hat, which still gets it scrutinised in public.
Software giant criticised for enforcing patent rights on open-source-related technology.
Microsoft is not only abusing with patents; it can still abuse with exclusion in some other areas. For instance, the other day Con said: “It’s nice of Bill to make these available in a Microsoft-only video format.” Not so long ago, Gates did the same thing with Feynman's lectures, preventing GNU/Linux users from accessing them.
According to Dana Blankenhorn, Microsoft’s module for Linux was partly motivated by its own fear that it was growing irrelevant.
The monopoly days are dead. But better days may yet come, if Microsoft can learn to monetize like its new competitors have.
Microsoft is now busy trying to monopolise “open source”. As Steve Ballmer put it, “I would love to see all open source innovation happen on top of Windows.”
Some days ago we wrote about the real purpose of Microsoft's plug-in for Moodle. Sadly, however, bigger publications fail or refuse to see it. Even educators are misunderstanding the plot, which is well captured by the following sentence
First: Microsoft is doing this for itself, and that’s no big deal.
What many people forget is that Microsoft directly competes against the LAMP stack, which makes its contributions to parts of this stack highly suspect. Any comparison between IBM’s contributions to LAMP and Microsoft’s contributions to LAMP is inherently flawed, naturally. █
“I’ve killed at least two Mac conferences. [...] by injecting Microsoft content into the conference, the conference got shut down. The guy who ran it said, why am I doing this?”
–Microsoft's chief evangelist
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Posted in Apple, Free/Libre Software, GNU/Linux, Microsoft at 4:11 am by Dr. Roy Schestowitz
Summary: Apple’s actions as of late lead to backlash and work in the favour of GNU/Linux
AFTER heaps of public scrutiny, Apple bothered to allow some competitors to merely inter-operate. It did so not by helping but by withdrawing a legal threat.
After threatening to sue the operator of a public wiki site over an anonymous discussion about syncing iPods using software other than iTunes, Apple has changed its tune.
One Apple customer who is unimpressed by Apple’s attitude is saying “Goodbye Apple”. He explains why.
I’ve owned a lot of iPods. My wife has owned a lot of iPods.
Not anymore.
For the longest time, I could use gtkpod to seamlessly access my iPods from my Ubuntu desktop. It initially took some reverse-engineering effort to understand the iPod’s data format to be able to access it from non-iTunes software, but it was possible. All of a sudden, Apple is trying everything they can to prohibit interopability.
First, they encrypted the firmware, blocking the use of third-party firmware like Rockbox and iPod Linux. This doesn’t bother me much, as I always prefered the original Apple firmware anyway.
This is good news for GNU/Linux, which does not require marketing, unlike Apple and Microsoft — two companies that fight over brainwash-propaganda campaigns and finally reach an agreement.
Bowing to pressure from Apple’s legal department – and that pesky imperative known as “the truth” – Microsoft has edited one of its Laptop Hunter ads to reflect Apple’s new MacBook pricing.
Let’s remember ways in which Apple helps Microsoft. In fact, Microsoft has just hired an Apple executive whilst losing a major person to Adobe.
A high-powered programmer who’d left Adobe Systems to lead a Microsoft Windows interface design team is heading back after just over a year.
A lot of people leave Microsoft these days. Maybe the financial issues play a considerable role in their foresight and eventual decision. █
“Microsoft does not hesitate to use its operating system monopoly power and application program dominance to try to eliminate competition.”
–Apple Computer Senior VP Avadis Tevanian Jr.
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Posted in Microsoft, Office Suites, Security, Windows at 3:50 am by Dr. Roy Schestowitz
Summary: Self-explanatory news about Microsoft and security
• Microsoft to issue emergency patches next week
Microsoft plans to issue two emergency patches next week that fix vulnerabilities in the Internet Explorer browser and Visual Studio developer suite that allow attackers to remotely execute malware.
• Software Crackdown
Cyber attacks seem to be getting more sophisticated by the hour. A few weeks ago malware known as Zero Day was found to have exploited a vulnerability in Microsoft’s Windows operating system that could allow online criminals to take control of a computer from anywhere in the world without being detected. The operation involved what is known as “drive by” attacks, in which visitors to legitimate Web sites are redirected to a page that secretly downloads the malicious software.
• Microsoft admits it can’t stop Office file format hacks
Microsoft’s plan to “sandbox” Office documents in the next version of its application suite is an admission that the company can’t keep hackers from exploiting file format bugs, a security analyst said today.
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Posted in Courtroom, GNU/Linux, Microsoft, SCO at 3:45 am by Dr. Roy Schestowitz
“[Microsoft's] Mr. Emerson and I discussed a variety of investment structures wherein Microsoft would ‘backstop,’ or guarantee in some way, BayStar’s investment…. Microsoft assured me that it would in some way guarantee BayStar’s investment in SCO.”
–Larry Goldfarb, Baystar, key investor in SCO
Summary: Microsoft hooks up with LNS, which is related to York Capital
GROKLAW has a fascinating new post which nicely relates to last night's roundup. York Capital, one of the possible saviours of SCO, is not so distant from Microsoft after all.
Anyway, right after Groklaw pointed out two days ago that Microsoft Licensing was transferring its claim against SCO in the bankruptcy to an entity called LNS, and that LNS seems to point to HaleGlobal/York Capital, the phone number on one of the links we provided has been changed.
Silly wabbits. You can’t cleanse the Internet. This jig is up, m’hearties. Naturally, we took the precaution of saving snapshots, which I will now show you, along with some more interesting tidbits, like the same building address for LNS and Charles Hale, Managing Director at York Capital.
Great work. █
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