Suggestion for Breaking Microsoft's Monopoly

[Al Klein]

I hate to tell you but I think you're confusing communism with
authoritarianism.

Communism - A theoretical economic system characterized by the
collective ownership of property and by the organization of labor for
the common advantage of all members.

Authoritarianism - Characterized by or favoring absolute obedience to
authority, as against individual freedom: an authoritarian regime.

Most people make that mistake, since "Communist" USSR and China were
dictatorships but only paid lip service to the Communist economic
system, even while claiming to be Communistic.

 

[Al Klein]

The animosity and jealousy displayed toward Microsoft has become a
disease upon itself and it amazes me how many people just keep feeding
into it.

Some of us don't like the product - it's not a knee-jerk reaction
against the company.

 

[Susan Bugher]

Nobody likes Mr Gates' success, this is no secret. However, to force him to
render his software OS would be a mistake for several major reasons (the
first and primary of which would be accountability). Whom would you have
step into MS's place?

To bring this into perspective, would you have the same done to Richard
Branson?, perhaps force him to reveal his secrets on becoming a
billionaire?. Hand over the Virgin enterprise to people such as yourself?.

Whilst we may not like it (or to be more precise, are extremely jealous of
those with fortunes beyond our own), being selfish and arrogant enough to
want to take that away from them is not a choice we or indeed anyone else,
should have. Everyone is entitled to create their own fortunes - as should
be the case.

In the US the government offers incentives or penalties to steer the
country in the direction they think it should go. That's often done via
the income tax system, sometimes it's done via the conditions the
government sets when it asks for bids for products or services.

If the US government decides "open source" and/or "free software" is
better than closed source there are many ways they could steer software
companies in that direction without *prohibiting* closed source
programs. For openers the government could buy only open source
software. Aren't some countries already doing that?

Susan
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[badgolferman]

Desertion is illegal and, aside from the mealy-mouthed PR that says,
in effect, "you can't prove a thing", he's guilty of desertion.
Commander in Thief, at the very least. (Cashing a government pay
check while not being there during the hours for which you're being
paid is larceny.)

Desertion from what? Surely you are not referring to the discredited
CBS report that was proven to be a lie?

 

[badgolferman]

Did we? That's the question.

Absolutely! The most popular votes for a President ever. Which in
this case also equated to more electoral votes than the challenger that
most people didn't trust.

 

[badgolferman]

Some of us don't like the product - it's not a knee-jerk reaction
against the company.

From: Al Klein <[email protected]>
Subject: Re: Suggestion for Breaking Microsoft's Monopoly
Date: Sun, 28 May 2006 23:02:25 -0400
Newsgroups: alt.comp.freeware
X-Newsreader: Forte Agent 3.2/32.830

What operating system are you using with Forte Agent?

 

[Al Klein]

Desertion from what? Surely you are not referring to the discredited
CBS report that was proven to be a lie?

No, I'm referring to the reports whose refutations were proved to be
lies.

 

[Al Klein]

Absolutely! The most popular votes for a President ever.

I didn't ask whether he received the most votes, I asked if we voted
for him. The questions are different.

 

[Al Klein]

From: Al Klein <[email protected]>
Subject: Re: Suggestion for Breaking Microsoft's Monopoly
Date: Sun, 28 May 2006 23:02:25 -0400
Newsgroups: alt.comp.freeware
X-Newsreader: Forte Agent 3.2/32.830

What operating system are you using with Forte Agent?

Which has what to do with whether I like Windows or not?

 

[Brian (Groups)]

Most people make that mistake, since "Communist" USSR and China were
dictatorships but only paid lip service to the Communist economic
system, even while claiming to be Communistic.

Indeed... which only goes to show that a little (or an incomplete)
knowledge is a dangerous thing. Not only in respect of political
systems, but also of economic systems and, dare I say, operating
systems.

Brian

 

[Brian (Groups)]

Several good points were made of which the above are probably key in my
mind. They did not become a large company by osmosis. They developed
a sound business model and encouraged others to follow along.

Absolutely. Case in point - when Wordperfect held a firm grasp on the
word processor software market and MS began trying to promote its much
maligned "Word" application.

Wordperfect's response - no opening or saving of documents in Word
format, no facility to deal with the MS .WMF graphic format, all
despite a rich range of filters available for other file formats.
Generally excluding Word users from the WP "set".

MS response - full capability to open/ save as WP .DOC format, full
support for .WPG graphics (in fact did a better job displaying them
than WP!), special help menus for WP users, even the ability to use the
WP keyboard layout and keyboard shortcuts. Generally welcoming WP
users, with an unprecedented level of easy interoperability or
migration.

Result - WP progressively loses users and eventually goes bust. MS Word
becomes the world's most popular word processing software.

Nothing magic or illegal there - just, as you say, a sound, smart
business model. WP took the easy "banishment and punishment" approach.
MS took the harder "welcoming and encouragement" approach. Each company
got their just deserts.

The animosity and jealousy displayed toward Microsoft has become a
disease upon itself and it amazes me how many people just keep feeding
into it.

It's just the ugly tall poppy syndrome beginning to fester at a
corporation level. It has existed against the successful countries and
societies, and those within such societies, since time began. In the
"age of the corporation", it's not surprising to see the cancer
spreading to a new target of opportunity. It's still based on
<violins>"Why should you be able to have it and not me? Just because
you're good at achieving it, and I'm too lazy to even try, you
shouldn't be more successful than me. I expect to be served up
everything you have, otherwise you shouldn't have it either."</violins>

Brian

 

[Daniel Mandic]

Indeed... which only goes to show that a little (or an incomplete)
knowledge is a dangerous thing. Not only in respect of political
systems, but also of economic systems and, dare I say, operating
systems.

Brian

Hi Brian!


Too much knowledge makes you blind and interrogating.

That's the moment where a human is asking himself, because of so much
knowledge. But not without saying it loud and officially (mostly
politicians).


Why is little knowledge dangerous??? Have your cacao or coffee and tee
ever exploded or burned your stomach? It's mostly developed and
harvested by people with little knowledge. Or the Oil-Platform digger,
do you think he (she) is stupid? Or, is it more intelligent to open a
barbershop or a milk-bar on a Oil-platform?

I would like to drink my drugs (see above) rather from a skilled
cultivator than from a intelligent (much knowledge, schools, diplomas
etc...) business stock-trader. Yuck, he/she could give me only shit,
that's all they can cultivate (living their life without planting one
tree but using many - car driving, heating, farting, disposal-gases.





Best Regards,

Daniel Mandic

 

[badgolferman]

Which has what to do with whether I like Windows or not?

"Some of us don't like the product" implies you are one of them, yet
you use it as your primary system. That is hypocritical to me.

 

[lugnut]

I didn't ask whether he received the most votes, I asked if we voted
for him. The questions are different.

Technically, in this country, we do not and have never voted
for a president nor, against a president. We vote for
electors in the electoral college. Although they generally
do, these representatives are not concretely bound to cast
their vote for a particular person and, for good reason, may
vote for another person that may not have even been on the
ballot.

Lugnut

 

[Boorstelt(c)]

Desertion from what? Surely you are not referring to the discredited
CBS report that was proven to be a lie?

No, I'm referring to the reports whose refutations were proved to be
lies.[/QUOTE]

Je bent een zeurpiet.

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Gerrit
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[Al Klein]

"Some of us don't like the product" implies you are one of them, yet
you use it as your primary system. That is hypocritical to me.

I earn my living developing on a Windows platform, and keeping
multiple operating systems on multiple computers isn't my idea of fun.

 

[Al Klein]

Je bent een zeurpiet.

Very communicative ... I guess.

 

[Al Klein]

Technically, in this country, we do not and have never voted
for a president nor, against a president. We vote for
electors in the electoral college.

I prefer my herrings gray.

 

[socrtwo]

I still think Winodws and MS Office should be open source. They are
monopolies and this is illegal in the US.

 

[badgolferman]

I still think Winodws and MS Office should be open source. They are
monopolies and this is illegal in the US.

They are not monopolies. There are viable alternatives available. If
they make a product that people want then they will take market share
away from Microsoft. IBM was the monster at one time and they lost
their market share.

This is called capitalism. If you don't like it there are alternatives
elsewhere.