Comments on: Why Microsoft is under assault from all corners

Attorney Lars Liebeler says open hostility toward the software maker runs contrary to a central premise of free-market economics.

[as901]

Poor Microsoft?

To claim the attacks on Microsoft are "unfair" is like saying the the school bully should be allowed to steal the other kids lunch money.

Microsoft has a long history of bad faith deals and Antitrust violations. The fact that the GOP refuses to enforce the Antitrust laws does not mean Microsoft is right. Mr. Gates and company has used threats of raising the cost of Windows to any company that supports competing companies. Microsoft has bribed their way into passing copyright laws that make property we purchased not ours. Microsoft has given out Windows "fixes" that make some non Microsoft programs break down. Worst of all, the new more extreme copyright laws make the promise of an online library on the web a lost dream. Mr. Gates has created a society that only alows the money few to access our own historical Photos, and he has made the WWW nothing but a bunch of ads with less and less solid info.

That "poor man" Gates has made more than anyone alive, yet he continues to demand more and more while blocking access to more and more.

[remivtv]

Free Market means no Corporate Capitalism

In a free market, producers cannot make any profits. If they would make a profit, competitors (we assume we're in a free market and customers choose the cheapest products/services) would soon find a means to produce a cheaper product/service and profits would disappear quickly. This means also that corporate capitalism would disappear as well, because corporate capitalists are only interested in the huge profits.

I would also like to note that the US are not a free market for other reasons. The US subsidise their exports while heavily taxing their imports. This looks more like pure communism, because international trade is in the hands of a governmental bureaucracy.

[Vegaman_Dan]

Money

The EU is simply going after big companies with money. Those daily fines in the millions can help to boost their own economies without actually having to produce anything themselves. It's far easier to impose fines on Apple, GM, and Microsoft than it is to make a product that people will want to buy themselves.

As soon as one antitrust issue is resolved there are more immediately filed. As soon as a company comes out with a product, the EU is all over them complaining and trying to impose monetary fines for it.

None of this has anything to do with the actual consumers, but is instead about getting as much money as you can out of others, in my opinion.

[Vegaman_Dan]

Money

The EU is simply going after big companies with money. Those daily fines in the millions can help to boost their own economies without actually having to produce anything themselves. It's far easier to impose fines on Apple, GM, and Microsoft than it is to make a product that people will want to buy themselves.

As soon as one antitrust issue is resolved there are more immediately filed. As soon as a company comes out with a product, the EU is all over them complaining and trying to impose monetary fines for it.

None of this has anything to do with the actual consumers, but is instead about getting as much money as you can out of others, in my opinion.

[mariomiy]

Worthy opponent

"As soon as a company comes out with a product, the EU is all over them complaining and trying to impose monetary fines for it. None of this has anything to do with the actual consumers, but is instead about getting as much money as you can out of others, in my opinion."
====================
Microsoft has a worthy opponent in the EU.
It has obtained all money it can from consumers, companies, governments, and without opposition in the U.S. It just happens that the EU has a different agenda; they think they can get more money by fining than by being bribed.
"They use the law to commit crimes", both?

[videofuel]

Paycheck

It is pretty obvious where your paycheck is coming from.

[jeromatron]

Lars Liebeler works for MS

So it says in your bio that you work for Microsoft indirectly so how can anyone believe a biased article such as this?

Did consumers demand interoperability at the price of things that Novell could not provide - namely breaking the GPL of Novell's software? They broke the spirit of that license by poring over legal ambiguities with high paid lawyers which is what the creators of the GPL and the creators of the software that Novell is currently prostituting are trying to fix in the next version of the GPL. It's like a parent who says to a child, "Okay son, please don't eat the cookies until I get home." Then the child eats just one cookie.

That's what's happened in the EU. Microsoft has repeatedly abused law to its advantage and flouted that fact many times. Now the EU is trying to enforce rulings and Microsoft is trying to stress-test the legal system over there to weasel out of it. I applaud their stamina to stand up to their high paid lobbyists and lawyers and actually enforce what they've said - making actual good documentation available to competitors reasonably according to their conviction of broken law. That's it - several years of foot dragging.

Please - under assault?

[cleenwe]

I wish I could mark the article as offensive

This is the second time this week I see someone who makes money from Microsoft related business remarking how wrong Europe is. The arguments are about the same too. These include that Europe says no innovation whilst Microsoft has patents on this. This argument ignores the fact that software patents are illegal in Europe (voted down by the parliament for good reason) and therefore Microsoft cannot (or should not) have software patents in Europe. Anyways, if their argument holds the internet wouldn't even exist, since someone would have a patent on tcp/ip and anyone using it would have to pay to use the patent. Imagine that, patents on interoperability protocols could cause problems.

PS : the other article was by Pat Cox (He advises Microsoft, among other companies, on EU-U.S. relations.) It can be found at http://www.businessweek.com/globalbiz/content/apr2007/gb20070402_569076.htm?chan=top+news_top+news+index for anyone interested in reading the same MS press release twice.

[anon321]

This is the most ignorant thing I have ever read

This is the most ignorant thing I have ever read. Perhaps you aren't aware of Microsofts plan (repeatedly threatened by Balmer) to sue Linux users becuase of patents MS holds (http://www.zdnet.com.au/news/software/soa/Ballmer_repeats_threats_against_Linux/0,130061733,339273726,00.htm); your right this definitely doesn't constitute using intellectual property laws to hurt competition. You probably also aren't aware that part of their deal with Novell includes a "convenant" to not attack Novell customers. Theres a reason MS has 94% market share, and it sure ain't cause they've got the best product. NEXT TIME, DO SOME RESEARCH.

[enigma.foundry]

Thank you, Europe

Standard Oil, AT&T and IBM were each restrained
by operation of law within America. A fair
observer would say that American Law has failed
in this regard, in the case of Microsoft. You
may say that that law against monopolies is not
a good law. Fair enough.

However, if we are to maintain this global
system of trading, we have to be ready to
compromise. The global system should not be
built only according to the wishes of America,
and in particular, large American Corporations.

Now that another jurisdiction's laws apply in a
way different than those in America believe they
should apply, suddenly, somehow, it has to be
UNFAIR.

Well, that is how the rest of the world feels
when America forces laws similar to the DMCA act
down their throats. This is to say nothing of
TRIPS and the WTO. It seems that America almost
always gets the world trading rules written to
its specifications. Sometimes, though some other
values from some other countries seep in that
are foreign to interests of large American
corporations.

My response: Welcome to Globalization.

Given the dangers to liberty that large
corporations represent (the DMCA is only the tip
of the iceberg) it is in the interests of the
American people to see the power of these
corporations diminished.

Oh, and BTW, Microsoft has been given every
chance to comply with the rules of the EU. They
have ignored those laws and been extremely
arrogant. At a minimum, one should read the
testimony of Andrew Tridgell (the author of
Samba) for an explanation of why Microsoft did
not comply, and what it should have done.

[MWILE]

Why Microsoft is under assault from all corners

EU IP is always against Microsoft but not for European consumers, remember they said Microsoft must remove free Media Player i.e Windows Media Player its Windows XP so that Europeans could install retail bought Other Media players. EU is technological not moving, which players are being produced in europe? Remember SUSE LINUX was being developed by Germans company but now is under NOVELL, EU must be out technologically soon, I dont see any contribution in computer technology of the continent. Microsoft has developed the best computer technologies, so why harvest from those tech.

[JJMacey]

Grow Up, It's A Global Market Place

Have you been sleeping? I've lived in Europe for 10 years, and then Asia for another 10 years.

M$ suits have been going on in the EU for years. And, in Asia do you not think that M$ policies are not just am "American Product".

Get real -- you are backing a lost cause, because you've never been anywhere.

JJMacey
aka Adler

[swbobcat]

Oxy-moron

I love it when people talk about "Intellectual Property" -- as though you can somehow "own" ideas. Yesterday the U.S. filed two complaints with the World Trade Organization [WTO]against China, not about trade, but rather about the fact that China is "violating the IP of the MPAA and RIAA" because of the pirating that goes on in China, alleging that both have lost billions of dollars due to these pirates. Poor MPAA and RIAA someone is copying music and motion-pictures. Little is said about unfair trading practices that results in huge trade deficits imbalances, rather we run to the WTO about the fact that the MPAA and RIAA are losing money to pirates. Here in the U.S. these same two organizations go after high school and college students as though they were mass murderers. And who is to blame? The U.S. government: Take for example the problem with the rash of pet food problems. The cause can be traced to wheat gluten which came from CHINA! Why from China? Because it is CHEAP! And what does that do? it increases our trade deficit with China. So now we are all paying for the fact that the U.S. imports uncontroled, unmonitored, wheat gluten simply because it is cheap. In short there is indeed something wrong if we believe that the operation and functioning of the free market is based IP protections rather the sale of quality products made of quality parts rather than products made of the lowest priced components so that mega-corporations can manufacture cheap products that are sold on the market at a kings ransom. It is not good for the American consumer in the long run, it is not good for the American worker who could have made the component, it is not good for the American economy. Let's stop shouting about "Intellectual Property" rights and start focusing on fair and equitable TRADE. Let's be proud buy produts that are not only made in the U.S.A., but are made with components that are made in the U.S.A.

[oxtail01]

Made in America?

I have cameras, computers, TVs, appliances - several with US brand names such as Dell, GE, etc., but it seems all of them have components from foreign countries or are assembles in a foreign country, like Mexico. Could you please tell me what are really made with US components? Maybe you need to check on the computer and internet equipment you used to send your message to see if any of them is with US made components. By the way, you may also want to check the clothes you're wearing and the towels you're using and the parts your US car you're driving. Finally, you may want to wake up from your dream.

[Schratboy]

MS under assault.? Piffle, I say!

Hmmm? Ease-of-use and security don't go hand-in-hand. IE blows and Lookout blow up on a daily basis. They keep adding new features, repacking and upsell the same crap. Under assault? Microsoft leaves my wallet and confidence flacid.

[alucinor]

This is the world's smallest violin ...

... playing "My heart pumps purple **** for thee".

Poor Microsoft. Hopefully America will nuke Europe for you and save us all from Communism.

After all, it's not like the EU wants any of THEIR fledling corporations to succeed, and need to be able to interoperate with the current de facto standard in order to even penetrate the market at all.

[rdean]

IP law does not promote free markets

Aside from CompTIA's well-documented history as a shill for Microsoft's interests, the following quote strikes me as particularly dumb: "[The position of limiting IP rights to prevent patent predators from using their IP as a bludgeon to the competition] is directly contrary to a central premise of free-market economics: IP protections will encourage investment and result in a wider breadth and depth of innovation."

The problem is that this theory only works if the IP laws are fairly defined and fairly applied. Under the U.S. patent system, there are many well-documented cases of patent trolls: those who purchase or file patents of questionable validity for the purpose of generating a revenue stream. This does not promote innovation: it creates a tax on innovation, removing capital that could otherwise be used to create and improve products.

[Commander_Spock]

GET REAL FOLKS IT IS TIME TO GET WARPED !

As Newtonian physics will inform your judgements/decision-making... just how far would the APPLE fall from the TREE! However long and however this argument goe--this is how history has accurately recorder the development of the WINDOWS OPERATING SYSTEM:

"OS/2, also called Warp from v3 onwards, is an Operating System originally produced by Microsoft and IBM until v2.xx, Microsoft decided to concentrate on it's Windows OS, leaving IBM to produce OS/2 v2.11, then Warp v3 and v4, while Microsoft produced Windows NT (NT = New Technology = Microsofts version of OS/2" = CODE-BASE WINDOWS XP = CODE-BASE WINDOWS VISTA; therefore, it is TIME TO GET WARPED-AGAIN!

http://www.os2site.com/

and, all your troubles will be over for you to LIVE LONG AND PROSPER!

[Commander_Spock]

Oops...

... sorry; "goes" not "goe" and "recorded" not "recorder"!

[benjiernmd]

OS/2 Warp was nice, but...

...it is not a freeware and open-source like Linux or Mac OS X (yes,
Mac OS X is free whenever I buy a Mac). I loved it before in circa
1999, but after all these years of Linux and Mac OS X, no thanks.
Maybe someday, if you could give me one for free. And, definitely
no thanks for Vista, even if it was given free.

[Ed-duh-win]

Stupid

Simple. European Commission is stupid. They are idiots...and we can do nothing, because they have settled in their ways.

Oh well. Let them invent their own OS.