What do you think of the DOJ's decision to settle US v. Microsoft?
Ian Kraemer
didn't know, US v. MS was a case about Microsoft illegaly bundling IE with
Windows. So what do you think?
98 Guy
Various US-gov't agencies (FBI, NSA, DOJ, IRS, DEA, CIA, etc) were able
to reach an agreement with Microsoft whereby they ensured that various
"back-door" technologies and logging / tracking mechanisms were
incorporated into future versions of windows (such as Vista and all
subsequent versions) that allow those agencies better access to the data
and usage logs of PC's of interest to them, perhaps (or probably) also
via remote access.
Microsoft itself even acknowledged that the NSA had a direct hand in
developing some aspects of the encryption methods used in Vista
(microsoft announced that about a month before Vista was released to the
public). The deal was sealed during a golf game between George Bush and
Bill Gates.
In exchange for giving various gov't agencies this level of
intra-operability surveilence capability with Windows, the US gov't
dropped it's anti-trust case against Micro$oft.
Bundling IE with windows is largely inconsequential and you will note
that potential legal issues with doing that has never stopped Microsoft
from their continued integration of IE into all versions of Windows.
Given the fact that Microsoft never did obtain a revenue stream from the
sales of IE as a separate product, it probably cost them quite a bit of
money over the years to develop IE and I doubt they ever received any
sort of revenue in return for those costs. So in the end, they burned
themselves with IE, their driving motive being to squash Netscape, and
then to figure out how they could make money from the internet with IE
being central to that.
What do I think?
I think that Microsoft is an illegal monopoly. It is a criminal
organization that has been found guilty of violating numerous laws in
many countries around the world. Because of that, I frequently copy,
distribute, and install their products in violation of their so-called
EULA, and I advocate that behavior to others whenever I get the chance.