charging for source code lets see it's their product they can do what they want with it if you don't like use something else like linux or mac for example.

microsoft should pull out of the eu microsoft can't break the law when they don't sell thier product to the eu and microsoft wouldnt realy loose much money people would order the cd or computers from the states and the eu countries would be punished financialy because in stead of computers being sold there they would be imported instead hurting the eu buisnesses.

The European Union itself is a monopoly, trying to become an european version of the USA.

Not because they have a good economic, or business or political plan or that they really trust each other. But out of jealousy of America's power.

But our power is a myth, it's the power of the people and freedom that isn't.

Sorry when we talk EU, they have their fist up their butt.

I dont understand myself on MS:/ They always release another failure after a failure, and then starts too fight eachother??? My own oppinion is; SCREW`EM ALL!! This is the last time I will use MS Windows at all!! Always failures in their systems!! Ive hacked some of my installed .dll files wich belongs too windows, and I found about 3000+ failure codes:(

SCREW THEM ALL!! Go over and use Linux instead, its stable anyhow you use it!

Ok, I am trying to grasp the logic that you are using for this argument?

“They always release another failure after a failure, and then starts too fight eachother?”
Ok, some of there technologies are flops but what is it that you and 95% of the world market are using? How is it that Server 2003 has the lowest TCO and highest uptime in the industry? I would love to see you deploy software to over 10,000 computers in under 6 clicks, more over I would love to see you have file level security managed in a corporate environment with such ease. What’s the point of having a NOS that involves so much damn work? I would rather be efficient and get more done then fiddle around with an immature platform that is no where near the level that Microsoft is at.

“Ive hacked some of my installed .dll files wich belongs too windows, and I found about 3000+ failure codes:(“
By hack you mean right click and open with note pad correct? Genius, total genius, no wonder the world is full of people that are so anti-windows, they just don’t know how to use them! Did you manage to find the ID-10-T error code in there?

“Linux instead, its stable anyhow you use it!”
Funny, my server box (2k3) and my primary workstation(xp) have seldom had issues, perhaps it’s the factor that I know how to use them but that’s just me. And if I ever did have an issue there is an error code that is kind enough to link me to the KB to figure out exactly what happened so I can correct the issue, most times its another vendors application not functioning correctly with windows.
Now my junk box with Linux (P4 2.26 GHz with 1 GB of RDRAM (I have an Asus board with an Intel chipset and have the firm belief that if you have a sis or via chipset you should have to agree not to touch a computer for at least 5 years) seems to have quite a lot of issues, such as the inability to tell me what went wrong after a system failure, the inability to support a lot of hardware, then inability to support a good deal of its supported hardware with out a great deal of time and effort. I know a lot of the Linux people out there say “ohh, well its still better, you just have to know what your doing and use it.” No, I am quite tech savvy, its called needles work with little support for anything useful. It’s making it impossible to implement in an office with 10,000 clients and to tell you the truth it’s a lot less secure then windows.

Ohh no, I said the big S word. The problem with a lot of windows networks are the windows administrators that have no clue what they are doing. Linux is open source, I can comb it for vulnerabilities, do that with windows! The reason windows is targeted so much is because its on 95% of the worlds computers. And the reason that there are no viruses on Linux is that no one uses it not because its so hard, its easy as pie to do. So why not try to by bias until you actually have an idea of what your talking about. I got 10$ that says if you even attempted to hack a windows network that was up to par you would fail miserably, and no, you don’t do that by right clicking and selecting open with notepad.

Mike Mancuso
A+, Network+, MCP, MCSA/MCSE: Security

That was one of the better posts I've seen on this board. Good job.

Thank you very much, I have been a reader for years but have never been one to post on the forums. But that last post inspired me to register and respond. I said to my self if I have to read one more comment from another 15 year old who thinks because he can throw together a few pieces of hardware and install a fresh copy of an OS that he is a computer god and the end all and be all of all things IT I was going to explode, Hence the rather lengthy rebuttal. But again, thank you for your feedback; I am glad that you appreciated my contribution to the thread.

Mike Mancuso
A+, Network+, MCP, MCSA/MCSE: Security

I agree with you strongly...

1. The EU like the united states democrats are pure idiots. Instead of trying to create laws that improve competition, better tax rates, easier start up costs. All they want to do is to destroy one of the best companies around.

2. Is microsoft perfect? Of course not, they make plenty of mistakes. But if you don't like it, buy other companies products. It's called FREE MARKET!

3. This is another sign of SOCIALISM, instead of rewarding & recognizing hard work and success they just want to tear it down to give to their constituents..

4. Life is not fair, all we can really ask for is justice. Should IE been integrated with windows so well? Perhaps not as a marketing decision, but there is no LAW BROKEN. As long as people can easily uninstall it. And can install competitor web browsers such as Mozilla Firefox.

5. Did Microsoft perhaps do bad practices to push their products all over the world? Probably did, but the punishment is way out of whack!!!!

6. A Better solution is to fix the business economy to encourage the growth of competitors and to really penalize any level of business wrong doings, from small to big. So that this can never happen in the future for any size of a company.

7. But business pressure is really hard to track, all we can do is document and bring them out to the open.

8. More Competition is always the best solution, but don't destroy 1 company just to feed the failings of a competitor. Like with netscape in it's suit in the usa, with sun java etc...

Justice must be served with Wisdom.

Thank you! Everything I wanted to include in my post and more! I could not have said that better my self.

Not to say that fining the hell out of MS is a good thing, but expecting them to comply with the law and legal rulings, and letting them know that it is NOT welcome to create it's own interpretation of what the law and legal rulings mean?

Absolutely essential.

If MS doesn't like it, they can always withdraw their product offerings from the EU...

Good that they aren't playing the "Pick your own punishment, and decide when to apply it" game that the US Justice Dept. decided on.

I hate eurotrash. Anyway, we run you.

What makes you think you are better, poostain?

What's up with the name calling, including your own degrading screen name?

Is the EU a bit short of change or something?! Can microsoft surely not sue them for picking on them. Its a bit embaressing living in the EU at the moment if you ask me!

I read more and more of these articles every day. I'm sorry, but in any way you cut it the EU is picking on MS through and through.

Are you telling me that every software company in the EU has to release their source code? If so, that's rediculous. You're telling me that MS has to contribute their source code (which others can make legit copies of the program and do with how they please), and like it? I don't really think that's fair, and to me it looks like the EU is just trying to be like, "I'm a big boy now. Look what I can do!!" by picking on MS.

What else do they have over the U.S.'s heads? Not much, that's for sure. Most of our crap comes from China/Japan anyways.

I'd think it'd be funny if MS said, "Fine every person in the EU can't use Windows anymore." ... I'm sure they'd be able to make Windows Update work so that when the time came it would completely format their HD and/or make their version of Windows not work anymore. Yes it'd be cutting out a lot of the world, but if the EU thinks they're God, then freaking let them go their own way. That'd be a great way to tell them to PI*S OFF and shove this tripe down their throat!

Signed.

And how many of those companies were found to be a monopoly and abusing their power as such?

for whatever reason, the EU made it a binding law that MS had to do this that and the other thing to sell there or face severe penalty. a law is a law, no matter if it is right or wrong, moral or immoral. MS has a choice to make, comply with said law and peace rules over all the land - or choose not to comply and say they are God and are above any law and tyhey can do what ever they please and cause themselves and everyone else nothing but trouble.

Lets seeeeee, I wonder which MS will choose...

Given their track record I think Big Headed Billy Goatcheese will continue on his self righteous quest to rule the world through evil software.

> Are you telling me that every software company
> in the EU has to release their source code?

Yes, every software company which has been found to be a monopoly and abuse it's position.

EU picking on MS? Allow me to be the first to break out the world's smallest violin to play the world's saddest song..just for Bill.

How many companies has MS run into the ground because of their business practices in the past? How many more have been absorbed by the software behemoth?

Still..why does the OpenSource community need access to Bill's box of secrets for any reason other than interoperability? And shouldn't that be the goal of any software company steering clear of the monopoly path?

MS withdrawing from EU..sounds like a dream. AU next pls!

"How many companies has MS run into the ground because of their business practices in the past? How many more have been absorbed by the software behemoth?"

you can't blame them for being successful!

Those of you think that the EU is picking on Microsoft just because it's the world's
biggest and most successful computer software company, and that it's based in
the United States, really couldn't be further off the mark even if you tried.

The fact is that Microsoft is not just an American company, it's an international
company, therefore subject to international laws. Like it or not, that includes
laws set out by the EU, which Microsoft have been found guilty of breaking.
So, the EU have absolutely every right to impose whatever sanctions are
necessary against MS. That includes any possible further sanctions, if MS
aren't fully abiding by the original sanctions that were imposed last year.

Yes I sure would be alot happier if M$ pulled out of europe. Would be like a dream come true!

First of all, Microsoft is not considered a monopoly. So if this is what you are implying, you need to research the definition of what a monopoly is. Microsoft does not have exclusive control of the operating system market, nor of the more specific desktop market. I agree that it is as close as you can get to being a monopoly without actually being one, but it isn't, so get over it!

Microsoft is a successful company because it makes good business decisions. Whether or not those decisions are legal are left up to the courts to decide. But you can't knock a company for wanting to improve its products. Which is the reason for much of what Microsoft is being blamed for on this thread.

You may or may not like Microsoft for whatever social or economic reasons that are your own. But to continually blame Microsoft for the failure of various companies is completely absurd. A good business plan, product and marketing does wonders.