How the DOJ/MS Settlement was Reached 274
Drek was among the many who wrote in to tell us about the following: "Wired is running an article about how the MS/DoJ settlement was reached. More importantly, the DoJ has set up an email address where citizens can send comments about the case: microsoft.atr@usdoj.gov. This might be a good way for Slashdotters to do their civic duty."The address has been around for a bit, but still, a renewed call for comment.
Re:Well, it does say something... (Score:1, Informative)
i think the laws require that they have a 30 day period for citizens to voice their opinions, they, in the light of our tech oriented society, have set up an email address in addition to their faxes, phone #, and addresses...whatever
Here's my letter to the DOJ: (Score:3, Informative)
Here's my letter to the DOJ:
I've owned a computer dealership since before IBM sold personal computers. I'm also a programmer.
Microsoft is extemely abusive and anti-competitive. -- Microsoft is far, far more anti-competitive and abusive than the US DOJ vs. Microsoft antitrust case [usdoj.gov] discusses. If the present case in resolved in an insufficient fashion, there will be a need for another case immediately.
Secret file formats are anti-competitive. -- A good partial resolution of the case would be to prohibit Microsoft from using secret file formats. Then there could be competition again.
At present there cannot be competition because the software from the dominant company, Microsoft, produces file formats that cannot be reproduced because they are secret. So, another company cannot make software that reliably inter-operates.
At present, if a big customer upgrades to a new version of Microsoft Office, and sends out files in a format incompatible with previous versions, all people who receive the files are forced to upgrade their Microsoft software. Companies understandably don't want to go to a good customer and ask that a document be sent again in a former file format.
Microsoft produces software that is deliberately faulty. -- Windows 95, Windows 98, and Windows ME all have articifial limitations which cause them to crash even though there are plenty of hardware resources. These are called "User Resources" and "GDI Resources". The memory for these resources is artificially limited to 128,000 bytes in some cases and 2 megabytes in other cases. When these resources are exhausted, the operating systems stop functioning.
Microsoft deliberately allows piracy. -- Major competitors of Microsoft like Corel Word Perfect and IBM Lotus WordPro have difficulty competing because Microsoft allows enough piracy of Microsoft products that competitors cannot sell theirs.
I called the Microsoft legal department and complained about this. The result was that I was a witness in a case against one of the pirates. More recently I tried to complain about this again, but it is now impossible to contact Microsoft's legal department.
In my area Microsoft Office 2000 is available for $50.00 at dealers who sell low-cost computers. I have verified with Microsoft that these are pirated copies. Over a period of many years, Microsoft has not taken sufficient action against the pirates to allow a chance for honest competitors.
Microsoft is ending support. -- Next month, December 2001, Microsoft will stop providing support for Windows 98, apparently in an attempt to force users to upgrade. Another good partial resolution of the DOJ-Microsoft case would be to extend the support time for at least another 10 years. Many people have computers that operate fine for the purpose for which they are used. For example, an accounting department in a small company may use Windows 95, or even the DOS operating system. These people should not be forced to upgrade.
These are only a few of the extremely anti-competitive and abusive methods Microsoft uses, in my opinion.
Regards,
Michael Jennings
An explanation of how the U.S. got involved in violence: What should be the Response to Violence? [hevanet.com]
Re:Here's my letter to the DOJ: (Score:2, Informative)
Windows Desktop Product Lifecycle Guidelines [microsoft.com]
This is the fast moving consumer/SOHO desktop market. Is it reasonable to expect any company to support software that is 6 years old?
At the s/w company I work for the software is aimed at a similar market and support is dropped after 2 subsequent versions are released; this works out at about 3 years. Are you going to set the DOJ onto us as well?