Shuttleworth - what Microsoft is doing is "racketeering" ....

[Colin McGregor]

--- tleslie <tleslie-RBVUpeUoHUc at public.gmane.org> wrote:
> So I guess my question is, why doesn't someone just
> charge them
> (MS/Bill) and be done with it?

Remember last time the US took on MS, years of legal
battles for diddly. Further what diddly the US did get
in concessions from MS, well, MS dumped @#$% all over
almost instantly....

Bottom line, before the government goes after MS there
is going to have to be a fair bit of political will,
which at the moment doesn't seem to be there.

For other possibilitiesm look at the SCO vs IBM/SCO vs
Novell cases, where you seem to have a decent enough
judge who knows that anything he does will be apealed
6^n th different ways. So, you have a judge who is
tripple checking that every T is crossed and every i
is dotted and then tripple checks everything again (a
personal style that I may grumble about but can not
fault). Net result, legally perfect judgements
rendered at a snails pace (and said judgements are
still appealed by SCO, slowing things down
further...).

If Microsoft wanted a SLOW paced legal cace, do you
think things would go faster than the SCO mess?

> I must be missing something here,
> cause as Shut points out, sure looks like an
> extortion racket.
> 
> http://mybroadband.co.za/nephp/?m=show&id=6672
> 
> -tl

Funny thing is, I don't think Microsoft gives a @#$%
about the money from Linux firms. In fact I would not
be shocked if the bottom line on money in all these
argeements is that MS pays $ to Linux firms (that
appears to be the case in the Novell agreement at
least). The big thing for MS is raw matterial for a
FUD factory. If MS convince IT managers that Linux is
still a legally risky bet then they can continue move
Windows version whatever, plus MS Office verion
whatever at absurd prices. That is the real money for
MS.

Colin McGregor

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