Comments on: EU to investigate Microsoft file format support

Microsoft says the move to allow Office to save and edit files in a rival format will give consumers more choice. The EU isn't convinced.

[wimc]

What a whole lot of people in defense of MS! Why? Do you guys like to be be squeezed out by them? Do you guys like that the MS competition is killed so that MS products are the only choices left? What do you have to gain from that?
Well, most people don't gain anything from that, so if the EC tries to fight that, then a real big lot of people win.

And about adding the legal cost to the license fees for MS products in Europe:
1. Simpler would be to just comply with regulations
2. That might be actually a very good move for the competing products. If MS products get even more expensive, then the alternatives become simply more interesting. Then maybe finally the monopoly would end.

[djambalawa]

Take your thoughts further to where they eventually lead and you've got communism.

[benjaminstraight]

EU needs money. Why not go after the King of the block?

[kromex]

Duty to investigate

I personally invented the Overlay Cosmetic Appliance or as the media calls snap on teeth. After my appliance was aired on NBC news stations in 2004, (Video URL: http://video.msn.com/video.aspx?mkt=en-US&brand=&vid=5c90e5bc-31e5-4e37-9d23-9884be1846d1), it became an instant hit. Soon after, a few dentists determined to cash in on the popularity of my appliance presented a plastic appliance that has been around for thirty years and mostly used in movies to create various characters. The following are comments are from patients who got scammed:
?I went to NYC and wasted $1500 for a lower piece that looks like a toy for Halloween. I had to pay up front and when I picked them up and had them placed in my mouth, the whole office staff raved how real and beautiful they looked. The more I looked at them, the more I hated them. It also hurt. When I removed them, I though my teeth were going to fall out. I called the next day and wanted my money back. I couldn?t handle how FAKE they looked and my family and friends agreed. When I went to the office, the Dr. was a jerk and everyone was so different. How dare he sell a piece of plastic toy for $1,500? To make this miserable story short, he refunded $500 and I had to sign a paper. I hope he gets caught and exposed real soon. I won?t say his name, but since there are only a couple of them using the same appliance and story, I would hope they all meet with law suits soon. I work hard for my money and I feel I have been robed and he got away with it and continues to do so
?Hi Guys I live here in New York and was very interested in the snap-ons until I went to see Dr ?I will not go back to again?. 1st of all they told me that the consultation visit was free. But when they told me that it will cost me 2,700 for the upper and lower and I will have to pay up front, no refunds, I didn?t want them. They charged me $100.00 for the 2 minutes of consultation.?
?These are a complete joke. Don?t waste your time or your money unless you want to look like a circus freak. I?ll be lucky if I get back even half of my bill. I called the dentist 4 hours after leaving because granted the time I allowed to get used to it, I still hate them every time I look at them. I had to take them out. Point in case: Snap on teeth are just that; Snap-On teeth. So if it?s too good to be true, it probably is.?
?They look like a big hunk of white plastic stuck to your mouth.?
?They are not worth the money, I wasted mine. And I am angry.?
?My snap on smile looked huge and the dentist told me I will get used to them. At work, my co-workers said I look like Jim Carrey in the movie Mask and everyone had a good laugh. I will try to return them and get my money back. Those teeth are a joke. How can dentists be allowed to sell them??
This is comment #2805. It was posted in reply to comment #2719 on U.S. News & World Report discussion forum. ?I believe you should approach a journalist and ask that an article be run in a newspaper asking the public to write in, if they have had a similar problem with any dentists in the City. Get names of the dentists concerned. Then the letters should be compiled and sent to the FDA or similar body for investigation. Even though you have been forced to sign a `default' agreement and were `paid off' with $500 the dentist is still in business as no one stands up to him. I don't know the legal implications, but newspapers are powerful allies, it is worth a try.?
Is there a journalist out there who is willing to get to the bottom of this quick fix dental scandal?

Arvid Saunaitis
A former dental technician
[e-mail]
http://tometalk-erudite.blogspot.com