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By: sooz
Date: 2/2/99 6:23:00 PM
# Replies: 19
WASHINGTON - Software giant Microsoft suffered what could be a stunning blow in its antitrust case Tuesday when the government accused it of falsifying a video demonstration shown in court Monday. Justice Department lawyer David Boies stopped the video demonstration in midframe Tuesday morning to show that a software title bar had suddenly changed in the middle of the tape. The video purportedly shows how attempts to modify Windows 98 to disable Microsoft's Internet browser caused severe performance problems. After Boies' dramatic announcement, a Microsoft executive said the company had made "mistakes" in producing the tape; meanwhile, Microsoft lawyers appeared crestfallen.
Response #1
By: The Sorcerer
Date: 2/2/99 7:34:31 PM
Damn! Sooz beat me to it! :)
Some tidbits from the case:
"The company maintains that removing Internet Explorer causes severe program degradation, making Windows 98 run as much as seven times slower and barring the use of some functions." -- A.P. Reuters
Seven times slower, just by removing Internet Explorer?!? Holy shit!
“I'm not going to stand here and say something nefarious went on,” Boies said. “We don't know … Whether it was deliberate or a result of incompetence, the video was wrong.” -- A.P. Reuters
Hmmm...malicious intent or incompetence.... Since we're talking about Micky$oft I guess that ones an "Even Money" bet.
Sorc'(Rev)
Response #2
By: Da Sissop
Date: 2/2/99 8:44:43 PM
"Crestfallen"... what a wonderful word!
...And DR-DOS is poised to make a stunning comeback!
Response #3
By: Homer The Brave
Date: 2/2/99 9:29:50 PM
Here's another one:
MicroSoul is trying to patent the idea of style sheets. http://lists.w3.org/Archives/Public/www-talk/1999JanFeb/. The patent office has it, too. This is a texual link instead of the obscenely large url.
MicroSoft are evil stupid bullies. But you knew that.
Response #4
By: Gowan McGland
Date: 2/2/99 9:50:26 PM
In a blow to Microsoft's antitrust defense, the company's expert technical witness conceded a videotaped demonstration was mistaken when it purported to show that a program that attempts to remove the Internet Explorer Web browser caused delays in the Windows 98 operating system. Windows 98 itself actually caused the delays portrayed on screen.
Response #5
By: The Sorcerer
Date: 2/3/99 12:56:27 AM
I suppose it's only a matter of time before M$ claims that they were actually the first creators of Linux...and tries to sue Torvald.
Oh! Hewlett-Packard & Silicon Graphics have just recently joind the growing list of hardware vendors who will support Linux on Intel platforms. Coolness.
Sorc'(Rev)
Response #6
By: Homer The Brave
Date: 2/4/99 12:34:43 AM
Die, Microsoft, die!
Response #7
By: The Sorcerer
Date: 2/25/99 5:07:38 PM
Did anyone see the special that CNN Newstand did on Linux yesterday (2/24/99)? It was a nice piece. They interviewed Torvald and the founder of Red Hat, and they talked about how although still a small share of the market (approx. 10million users) the growth is tremendous (user base has been doubling every year).
When asked why Linux was becoming so popular and why so many people had moved away from Microsoft and Windows to Linux his response was simple. "Because their product sucks."
Sorc'(Rev)
Response #8
By: Gowan McGland
Date: 2/25/99 5:58:07 PM
You realize that as soon as Microsoft settles with the Justice Department, the other foot is gonna drop squarely on Linux. They'll just scoop it up and it'll disappear like it never existed, only to become a "feature" in some later version of Windows.
Response #9
By: Da Sissop
Date: 2/25/99 9:03:58 PM
After 1999 we'll all be using an abacus anyway.
Response #10
By: sooz
Date: 2/25/99 10:37:36 PM
...because the sun will go away and our solar powered calculators won't work anymore.
Response #11
By: The Sorcerer
Date: 2/26/99 7:20:37 AM
Gowan Sez:
=========================================
You realize that as soon as Microsoft settles with the Justice Department, the other foot is gonna drop squarely on Linux.
They'll just scoop it up and it'll disappear like it never existed, only to become a "feature" in some later version of Windows.
=========================================
I'm still holding out hope that Microsoft won't just "settle with the Justice Department". One suggested solution that is being floated about according to InfoWorld and InterNetWeek is breaking M$ up into "Baby Bills", as was done to AT&T.
Not that I'm biased or anything of course.... ;)
Sorc'(Rev)
Response #12
By: Homer The Brave
Date: 2/27/99 2:41:07 AM
MS *can't* scoop up Linux, any more than Denny's can scoop up a pot-luck.
Response #13
By: Shadow Sprite
Date: 3/1/99 9:46:08 PM
Actually, rumor has it that IBM's working on a desktop release of Linux... I'm not sure what they mean by desktop release, I've never had a problem with the current Linux running on my desktop. ...Well, except when Snoopy goes after his blanket. That tends to shake Linux up a bit.
Response #14
By: The Sorcerer
Date: 3/1/99 10:15:31 PM
Cool, I hadn't heard that. My guess is they're looking at doing the same thing Red Hat and Caldera are doing. They can sharpen up the install process, make it easier to configure, bundle in a bunch of apps and provide billable tech-support over the phone. The money to be made as a Linux distributor is in service and service contracts, and if there's one thing IBM knows it's making money from service contracts.
I mean the OS is free, drivers are free, documentation is free, upgrades and enhancements are being done by hundreds of thousands of people you don't have to pay wages to! The overhead here is *TINY*; the cost of media, the packaging and any hard-bound documentation you decide to provide. They already have probably the largest telephone technical support system in the world. All they have to do is hire some LinuxHeads and give 'em a phone, cube, and a 'puter. This is great!
Sorc'(Rev)
Response #15
By: Homer The Brave
Date: 3/4/99 12:20:20 AM
Penguins at IBM! Yay!
Response #16
By: Gowan McGland
Date: 3/4/99 10:20:01 PM
Anyone know what, if any, the difference is between the Linux you can buy in a box from Red Hat themselves and the one you can buy from Macmillan Publishing?
One has the Red Hat logo and the other has the penguin logo, if that helps you know which two I mean.
Any major difference or are they the same?
Response #17
By: Homer The Brave
Date: 3/4/99 11:42:49 PM
Various manufacturers are putting their own spin on the installers and software packages. Linux Mall has more than a few clues in their product listing.
Response #18
By: The Sorcerer
Date: 3/4/99 11:56:18 PM
Gowan Sez:
===========================================
Anyone know what, if any, the difference is between the Linux you can buy in a box from Red Hat themselves and the one you
can buy from Macmillan Publishing?
One has the Red Hat logo and the other has the penguin logo, if that helps you know which two I mean.
Any major difference or are they the same?
===========================================
The main difference between Red Hat and other Linux distributions is the install program and the additional add-on programs that Red Hat usually put in their bundle. Red Hat has a nice DOSy like menu driven install program, some other distributions are more cryptic. Functionally, they should be the same. You may have to go download a few library files to bring the Macmillan one up to date but that's it.
I personally, think the Red Hat distribution is a good one for beginners because it allows you to let the install program make alot of the decisions on which programs, shells, and packages to install. I haven't seen a Macmillan distribution in a while so they may have a snappy install program now too. Hell, the Macmillan distribution could actually be the Red Hat distribution with their name on it since I don't believe Macmillan Publishing is rolling their own Linux, just repackaging one of the better known ones like Slackware, Red Hat, Caldera, etc....
Sorc'(Rev)
Response #19
By: The Sorcerer
Date: 3/5/99 12:10:49 AM
BTW, I think you can still get Solaris 7 (for Intel & Sparc) for the cost of Shipping from the Sun via their webpage. Be sure to check the "supported hardware" list for Intel though.
Sorc'(Rev)