Bonum Certa Men Certa

Windows Phone 7 is Dying, So Microsoft is Just Attacking, Extorting Android

Urban mirror



Summary: Microsoft plays an urban game as it fails to produce a compelling product and instead it wages war in the boardroom

LATER today we hope to cover these issues in TechBytes as the gist of it all is that Microsoft loses the battle and there is abundant evidence. For starters, my co-host Tim notes Microsoft's "largest dip in two years" and writes about more bricking/malfunctioning of Windows phones, noting: "When I predicted that the WP7 would be lacking even months before the first phone touting it had hit the shelves, little could I imagine the issues that the phone would have post-release. To say it beggars belief is an understatement.



"The upgrade problems/bugs of WP7 have been documented here, along with the features missing, the real sales figures that Microsoft seems to still be keeping close to its chest and the continuing search for me to actually find someone I know who owns one of these devices, so its only right we continue that tradition of pointing and laughing with this piece of news."

Here it is right from the horse's mouth: "Microsoft admits to more Windows Phone update problems"

Yet another problem has cropped up preventing some Windows Phone 7 users from getting two software updates, adding a new chapter to the update saga that started in February.

Microsoft acknowledged that some Samsung Focus owners in the U.S. haven't yet received notification that the updates are available for them. "They're looking into the situation, but I'm afraid there's not much to report yet," wrote Michael Stroh, a Microsoft employee who is answering questions posted to the comments section on the Windows Phone blog.


There is more information in Windows sites:

Today, Microsoft announced that they are halting the NoDo update for Samsung Omnia7 due to technical issues. According to Windows Team Blog writer Michael Stroh, the update team found a technical issue which is causing the update process to fail.


Microsoft simply cannot compete in this market, so instead it has been trying to make GNU/Linux more expensive than Windows, using extortion and market distortion. "It's a brilliant strategy," says Microsoft booster Matt Rosoff [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6] in his new article "Microsoft Charges More For Patents To Use Android Than It Does To Use Windows Phone 7" (it sounds like he celebrates this). To quote:

Microsoft charges more to Android resellers for licensing six of its patents than it does for its entire Windows Phone 7 operating system.

It's a brilliant strategy, since Android's most obvious advantage is its "free" price for handset makers.


Yes, Microsoft is a patent extortion company and there are formal complaints being filed about it. We mentioned this at the end of last week [1, 2, 3]. Truthfully, Apple and Steve Jobs' friends at Oracle are not helping, either. "Oracle has won an early round in what is sure to be an epic battle against Google over Android's use of Java," says one report that gets cited by foes of Google and Linux, such as Microsoft Florian, who are desperate to use anything that can repel Android users, e.g. this story: [via]

Two Oakland County women have filed a $50 million class-action lawsuit against Google Inc. to stop the company from selling phones with Android software that can track a user's location.

The lawsuit, filed late Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Detroit, comes a week after Google acknowledged that phones running its Android software store some location data directly on phones for a short time from users who have chosen to use GPS services.


Ultimately, even Microsoft is coming to realise that patents are a bad thing and if enough cases like the i4i case get filed against Microsoft, then maybe the abusive monopolist too will have to step back and squash software patents along with everyone else. The following video is several months old:



Here it is as Ogg: (via TinyOgg)

[an error occurred while processing this directive]



The success of Linux is now hinged upon the success of abolishment of software patents. Week of software patents opposition resumes today even though it's Bank Holiday in the UK. According to the president of the FFII, "Microsoft NZ is organizing a seminar in Aukland "Patent and Intellectual Property Monetization Seminar" http://ur1.ca/41obc " (still trying to manage other countries' patent policies).

Based on "Think IP Strategy" (which links to IAM Magazine, a patents booster), Microsoft's and Gates' patent troll, Intellectual Ventures is not just lobbying for harsher patent laws but is also opening "EU: Opportunities [...] for NPEs with a new EU patent" (yes, of course, and we warned about this).

NPEs is a euphemism for patent trolls, which have thus far been rare in Europe. The new legislation can change that and patent trolls obviously like it, including Intellectual Ventures, an extorter of Linux/Android. From IAM Magazine we also have this new article:

Intellectual Ventures has issued a vote of confidence in Europe, says firm's Euro chief



Raymond Hegarty, the new head of Intellectual Ventures’ operations in Europe, is an excited man. I spent a few minutes talking with him on the phone on Wednesday to learn more about what IV plans to do now it is fully established over here. And while Hegarty was not giving much away there was no doubting that he believes a considerable opportunity has landed on his lap. Although Hegarty has been involved in technology and IP deal-making for many years, and has established a ...


"Patent Troll Intellectual Ventures pushing for the EU patent, EU patent could be a game-changer for trolls," remarks the FFII's president. It's not about products anymore. Linux wins based on merit, but can it defeat bad laws that Microsoft and Co. lobbied for?

Comments

Recent Techrights' Posts

They Don't Tell Us that 'Digitalisation' (Now Sold as "Hey Hi") Just Means Customers Become Unpaid Staff and Are Made Accountable
People are being conditioned to associate technology with something undesirable, at times even unbearable
Amazon Web Services (AWS) Has Layoffs and Microsoft Gaming/Entertainment Division Has an Uncertain Future
it's good to see all those horrible things crashing and burning
 
Links 22/07/2025: "Blog Restart" and Microsoft Clobbered by “ToolShell"
Links for the day
Global Warming and Global GAFAM Energy-Wasting
Burn more money (borrowed, loans), then hope the waste will somehow translate into profit?
No Compliance With the European Patent Convention (EPC) at the European Patent Office (EPO)
It's about preventing competition against this autocracy
Blue-Collar Trolls vs White-Collar Trolls
Examples of white-collar trolls
Apple Vision Pro Failed So Badly That Its Sales Are About 2,000 Times Smaller Than iPhone Sales
What's left for Apple to offer other than hype?
To Millions of People "Year of the Linux Desktop" Was Some Time in the 1990s (Bootable GNU/Linux as a Complete Operating System is Over 33 in Age)
In some sense, "year of the Linux desktop" was 33 years ago
Make No Assumptions (or Demands) About the Screen Resolution Used by Other People
There are usability aspects, aside from accessibility aspects
Why Wayland (and XWayland) Won't Solve the Key Problem It Proclaims to be Tackling (the Same Is True for Rust)
The problem isn't Wayland per se but the false promises and efforts to force everybody to move to it whilst insulting or demonising everyone who won't play along
Diplomatic Immunity Should Not Exist for Anybody
The EPO in its current form gradually 'normalises' the end of European democracy
Brett Wilson LLP Stopped Sending Me Papers When I Showed It had Sent Me Over 5 Kilograms of Legal Papers
A week ago we lodged our third lawsuit
Microsoft Mass Layoffs and Shutdowns Became the New Normal at Microsoft
Microsoft mass layoffs became a topic of everyday media coverage since May
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Monday, July 21, 2025
IRC logs for Monday, July 21, 2025
FSF "Raised Almost $139,000 During This Summer Campaign"
"Thank you for making a stand against dystopia!"
Gemini Links 22/07/2025: VPS Exploited and Fear of View
Links for the day
LLM Bots vs Techrights
Slows things down a bit
New Publication Sheds Lights on Abuse of Workers at the European Patent Office (EPO)
Put in simple terms, they're killing the Office, harming remaining staff, try to hire rubber-stampers
Links 21/07/2025: Hardware, Health, and Imperialism
Links for the day
Gemini Links 21/07/2025: "When Buying Isn't Owning" and "CMS Special Edition"
Links for the day
Links 21/07/2025: Indie Web and Toxic Politics
Links for the day
[Meme] Microsoft Lawyers Throwing Stones in Glass Houses
threatened me with bankruptcy
Google "AI Overview" is Not AI and Not Overview
do not be misled; what Google does isn't smart, it's just ripping off the sites it already crawled for as long as 27 years
Making the Case to Dump Microsoft and GAFAM for National and Digital Sovereignty
"Sovereignty is difficult"
The Tactics of the Opposition (Microsoft Lunduke): Associate With K00ks, Throw in Vaccines to Muddy the Water
Who stands to gain from this?
Europe's Second-Largest Institution (EPO) and Largest Patent Monopoly Office Needs More Transparency, Not Less Transparency
In the EPO, what good are elections when one candidate literally bribes all the voters?
How Not to Report News About Microsoft
This pattern of misreporting is so widespread that it's hard to believe it's not intentional
Computer Science is Under Attack, They Want Everyone to be a Consumer
If people can no longer acquire Computer Science education and real Computer Science experience, they will not know how to control their own digital destiny or emancipate the very same universities that now control the syllabus and instead of teaching Computer Science encourage the outsourcing of systems
The Best Tools Are the Simplest Tools
There's a hidden message here about the merits of sticking with X
Ofcom Online Safety Group Speaks of Protecting Women Online, Will Brett Wilson LLP Ever Listen?
They've essentially became like the Taliban's "burka police"
Social Control Media Relies on Advertisers, So It'll Always Be Hostile Towards Free Software
Sales, sales, sales
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Sunday, July 20, 2025
IRC logs for Sunday, July 20, 2025
Fragmentation of Data
Life is too short to "hoard" data
In Defence of "Spinning Rust"
Just because something is "old" (or older) doesn't mean it ought to become extinct
Using Free Software to Prepare Legal Documents
LibreOffice is openly complaining about OOXML as an obstacle
Tech and Technology Are Not the Same Anymore
"Are you into tech, Sir?"
Our Articles About SLAPPs Receive Recognition and Interest
This week we shall continue writing about the 3 lawsuits we filed
Are You Served?
For many people, advocacy of Free software and GPL enforcement are assumed to be happening
Conspiracy or grooming? Alex Jurado, Voice of Reason compared to Outreachy
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Links 20/07/2025: Security Breaches and Former 'Open' 'AI' Engineer on Hype and Culture Issues
Links for the day
Links 20/07/2025: Fending Off BRICS and US Government Attacks Its Own Media (Like China and Russia)
Links for the day
Framed by social control media: Alex Belfield, Voice of Reason
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Gemini Links 20/07/2025: Summertime and OCC25 Wrap-up
Links for the day
Jamie Zawinski Complained About Wayland, Then Decided to Give It a Go, Now Complains Again About Wayland
Ask IBM (Red Hat) why it's worth throwing so much away just for Wayland fanaticism
Slopwatch: Planet Ubuntu, LinuxSecurity, and More
former "Linux" blogs which basically became slopfarms
Russia Set to Ban Facebook?
If WhatsApp is made to "leave", that means Facebook or "Meta".
Links 20/07/2025: More GAFAM Lawsuits, Layoffs, and SLAPPs
Links for the day
Taking Stock of a Good and Productive Week
We shall now be taking a break, unpacking the new hard drive (8 TB), and making backups of everything
Nice Recovery (From Actual Fire) by PCLinuxOS, New Version of PCLinuxOS Released, Now Top of DistoWatch
PCLinuxOS is a community-driven distro
More Microsoft Shutdowns That Mostly Slipped Under the Radar
Remember what happened to books 'sold' by Microsoft?
Microsoft Lunduke Still Fighting Cancel Culture With... Cancel Culture
There will be no "winners" in such 'debates'
The History of Daily Links and Politics
"I support Wayland, but I also support abortion..."
Ageism in Tech
Your protocol is "old"...
Microsoft is at 0% "Market Share" in Most Areas
Depending on the taxonomy chosen, there may be dozens of categories other than desktops and laptops
"The moment MSFT stock fails to start tumbling, that’s the beginning of another corporate giant going under."
There are far more layoffs at Microsoft than at Intel, but you would not get this impression based on Wall Street media
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Saturday, July 19, 2025
IRC logs for Saturday, July 19, 2025