Compulsory Windows purchasing by way of PC bundles is one of the biggest hurtles to alternative OS adoption. Some people have been able to fight it: "Reading the Slashdot article about Dave Mitchell from Great Britain, who got a 47 pounds refund from Dell for returning his copy of Windows was an inspiration for me to check, if it is possible in Poland, too. This is my success story."
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Member since:2006-06-03
Microsoft have been found guilty of this in the past, and, IIRC, managed to get out of paying the fine.
However, the OEM licensing agreements with large companies are all trade secrets, and hevily defended by NDAs. So it is difficult to prove anything. There is evidence that Microsoft use fixed-term, re-negotiable licence agreements to force OEMs to play by their rules. If an OEM refuses to play nice, the next time the licence negotiations come round, they will find that the unit cost for Windows will have doubled, or something. This is very difficult to detect, and even more difficult to bring legal action against.
Member since:2006-12-16
And how hard is it to make laws to *force* them to reveal to the courts. I don't have a problem with them hiding it from individuals, that's part of their rights. But - if a court of law asks to see these documents, then they *must* oblige. They can hold a closed court session if they must, like what was done many times with SCO vs IBM. Court documents from such sessions are repressed from public records. They have no excuses. I'm positive that Microsoft still engages in illegal behaviour - and they will keep doing so until a government comes along and hammers them for it. Unfortunately, all of the attempts so far (even the EU's) are just pussy footing around. Europe is too scared it'll pi$$ off the US of A, the US government is putting trade pressure on other countries not to penalise "one of its own", it's truly despicable.
The only countries with a backbone these days are Iran, North Korea and Venezuela, all of which the US would love to wipe off the face of the Earth. Oh, and I'll add Russia now - I bet the US won't take on them, shows that the US is just a bully...oh you got me started...
Anyways, back on track - the US DOJ needs to start taking *proper* action against Microsoft and other practioners of illegal trade practices. Pronto. Even if it does hurt the US economy. Morals first, money 2nd. I find it so surprising in a country that is so religious, that money is more important than morals, and even more so, that the people let it happen. But then, that's what I expect with dumb Chrisian fundamentalists. Oh, you got me started there.
I guess I should own up - I'm a extreme left, anti capitalist, pagan. And proud of it.
Dave
Member since:
2006-12-16
Well, if Lenovo doesn't sell it [the laptop] without an operating system, and will only sell it with Microsoft Windows, why is this? Do they have a licence with Microsoft that they will only sell laptops with Windows, and not other operating systems? If so, it should be relatively easy to subpoena Lenovo to prove or disprove this.
If the above is true, then:
a) any reasonable government should be finding Microsoft guilty of anti trust and monopolistic actions
b) find Lenovo guilty of participating in illegal activity
Thus resulting in both being heavily fined - I'm in favor of 80% of their gross income for 5 years. That'll make them think about doing that sort of behaviour again.
A solid judiciary system is needed that does not bow to political pressure (to let these criminals off), and ensures that any appeals are dealt with in a swift manner, solidifying the original decision in cement.
I'm well and truly sick of the rich, powerful corporates bending the law to their own needs. That is not justice.
Dave
edit: I don't give a $hit about corporations - nearly all of them are bastards that continously break the law, including tax laws to benefit themselves, with little benefit to society. I see no reason why they have more legal rights than individuals, that is not a just legal system - it's a legal system that bases decisions on money and power, not on merit. The US legal system is a good example of such a bad judicial system, probably explains all the weird, screwed up decisions that get made over there (not that Australia is any better).
Edited 2008-08-31 00:51 UTC