Bonum Certa Men Certa

Microsoft Accused of Profiteering ($1.5 Billion) from Crime with Intel

Collusion trial resumes

Intel: criminal inside



Microsoft seems to be absolutely fine with antiquated and inadequate machines at the store, so long as they come saddled with Windows Vista and its sophisticated disablement capabilities, better known to many as "DRM". Intel has no problem flogging old machines that nobody wants, as long as there are salesmen out there whose Microsoft recommendation they fall for. This recommendation allegedly came after Intel's CEO, Paul Otellini, conversed with Steve Ballmer. The latter chap ought to have undergone his deposition by now (before Christmas), but there was no press coverage.



A lot of Microsoft-faithful analysts, whose opinions are up for sale at bargain prices [1, 2, 3], ushered and promoted the operating system that turned out to be a dud. So much for their credibility. It's incredible how corruptible one can become, but as Microsoft puts it, "Analysts sell out - that’s their business model..."

Either way, the "Vista Capable" class action lawsuit is far from over and a figure is now named, which is supposedly the amount of money Microsoft -- not just Intel -- made by deliberately lying to their customers.

An expert estimates Microsoft earned more than $1.5 billion through the sale of PCs labeled as "Vista Capable," according to a court document.


The declaration states:

I have been asked by Plaintiffs' counsel to estimate the amount of revenue earned by Microsoft from the licensing of Windows XP on Vista Capable but not Vista Premium Ready PCs sold to Plaintiffs. In Microsoft's Supplemental Responses it estimates that it received revenue of [redacted] from Windows XP licenses on upgradeable PCs sold in the U.S. during the April 2006 through January 2007 period. From the estimates of Windows Capable but not Vista Premium Ready PCs compared to all upgradeable PCs as in Table 1, I estimate that [redacted] of the [redacted] from Windows XP licenses on upgradable PCs were for XP licenses on Vista Capable but not Vista Premium Ready PCs -- those PCs purchased by the Plaintiff class. From these figures, I have, therefore reached the opinion that Microsoft revenue from the Windows XP licensing on Vista Capable but not Vista Premium Ready PCs sold to Plaintiffs was $1.505 billion.


This figure probably does not account for the injury caused to Microsoft's competitors, which is related to vapourware -- an offence in its own right. They froze the market or spurred sales based on false premises.

Microsoft tried to squeeze an unwanted product into PCs where it did not fit. Spotted in the news two days ago was also this report, which is similar to previous ones from May 2008. Microsoft is artificially crippling hardware performance, thus proving that its interests do not lie in maximising value for the customer. It shows not only that monopolies corrupt but that absolute monopolies corrupt absolutely.

Microsoft adds to Atom’s restrictions



One of our readers was kind enough to send in the Microsoft Windows hardware requirements (or limitations) for the NetBook and NetTop platforms. This spec applies to the top 20 OEMs and should have come into effect in September last year.


Since then, Microsoft moved further in its war against GNU/Linux (on sub-notebooks). ASUS conceded that Microsoft had tied them up and it very much shows. Will there ever be a class action lawsuit that protests and seeks compensation for these anti-competitive tactics? This was done before, even when the price of Windows by far exceeded $5.

"Government attorneys accuse Microsoft of using its monopoly position to bully, bribe and attempt to collude with others in the industry, while illegally expanding and protecting its Windows franchise."

--The antitrust case: a timeline

Recent Techrights' Posts

Revisiting Julian Assange's Excellent Talk, His First Talk Since 2019 (Tactful and Almost Invulnerable to 'Cheap Shots')
Assange need not be politically-correct or self-censor
Mozilla is GAFAM, HTTPS is Monopolies
Firefox used to boast that it would make the Web more accessible. Today's Mozilla is rowing in the opposite direction.
 
[Video] The Council of Europe's Parliamentary Assembly on Julian Assange
The Council of Europe's Parliamentary Assembly has voted to confirm that Julian Assange was held as a political prisoner
[Video] Thórhildur Sunna Ævarsdóttir (Iceland, SOC) Explains That Julian Assange Was Punished for Exposing Crimes (Instead of the Criminals Getting Published)
Thórhildur Sunna Ævarsdóttir speaks out...
Links 04/10/2024: Telegram Issues Deepen, Texas Sues TikTok
Links for the day
"The Council of Europe's Parliamentary Assembly has voted to confirm that Julian Assange was held as a political prisoner."
This stuff should not have been in Twitter (X)
Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles (ICBMs) Do Not Run Windows
The projects that deal with ICBMs are extremely unlikely to involve Microsoft
"Microsoft is asking for a handout... yet again"
Just over a month after the last bailout fell through the cracks
One Step Closer to the End of Microsoft's XBox
XBox sales are down over 50% in the past year
GNU/Linux Flaring Up in ASEAN
We said we'd not post statCounter for a few months
Gemini Links 04/10/2024: Asteroid City and Retro Gaming
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Thursday, October 03, 2024
IRC logs for Thursday, October 03, 2024
Resting Time
we deserve a short break - even if only for tomorrow
Wikileaks Revelations About the History of IBM and Its Role in the Cold War
IBM is still an ICBM company (to this very date)
Windows Kills More Than Most Wars (But the Media Casually Ignores the Death Toll of Microsoft)
The bottom line is, many people are dying, they die due to Microsoft, and the media fails us by not informing us and failing to even name the principal culprit
Gemini Links 03/10/2024: RetroChallenge and Change of Online Habits
Links for the day
Links 03/10/2024: Quantum Computer Vapourware (as Usual) and Samsung Layoffs
Links for the day
Links 03/10/2024: "Hey Hi" Scandals and Copyright/Trademark Disputes
Links for the day
Invidious Seems to be Nearing 'End of Life' After Repeated Crackdowns by Google/Alphabet/YouTube
To Free software users, YouTube ought to become a "no-no"
Links 03/10/2024: Climate Issues and Tensions in East Asia
Links for the day
Like a Marketing Department of Microsoft, Canonical Sells Back Doors and Surveillance as "Confidential" and "Hey Hi" (AI)
Notice how Canonical has made no statement critical of Microsoft for years
Gemini Links 03/10/2024: Frozen Tofu and SGI O2
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Wednesday, October 02, 2024
IRC logs for Wednesday, October 02, 2024
Links 02/10/2024: Microsoft Spying on Windows Users Grows, Microsoft's Surveillance Arm LinkedIn Used to Highlight Employment Crisis
Links for the day
Links 02/10/2024: Students Who Can’t Read Books and Dead Butt Syndrome
Links for the day
Gemini Links 02/10/2024: GNU/Linux Distros, Flat-File Databases, and How the Web ate Gopher
Links for the day
Technology: rights or responsibilities? - Part II
By Dr. Andy Farnell
A Cost-Free Bribe From Microsoft
Daniel Stenberg is not dumb, but he seems rather gullible or unprincipled
Plans for the Site's 19th Year
Like TechDirt, we expect to devote more efforts/time to covering free speech online
Network Getting Faster
Loading up the site in 0.077 seconds
The Manchester Experience
Yesterday Tux Machines served 436,897 Web hits
If Red Hat Has Mass Layoffs This Year, Nobody Will Tell You About It
We seem to have entered a strange quasi-cosmic era wherein layoffs aren't disclosed anymore and news sites don't bother to report them, either
IBM, Kyndryl, Subsidiaries (Like Red Hat) and Silent Layoffs
Kyndryl follows in IBM's footsteps with rolling layoffs likely affecting thousands
Anniversaries and New Beginnings
The world needs more transparency and far less secrecy
Links 02/10/2024: Microsoft Kills Off HoloLens, Media Discusses Assange Speech
Links for the day
Gemini Links 02/10/2024: New Car, Broadband, and Gemtexter 3.0.0
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Tuesday, October 01, 2024
IRC logs for Tuesday, October 01, 2024