THREE Microsofts??!!

[DrMordrid]

The judge in the Microsoft case just threw both Microsoft AND the Feds a curve ball; he doesn't want to split Microsoft into two entities (SW & OS). He wants to split them into THREE!!

The new companies would comprise Software, Operating System and Internet Explorer. And he wouldn't entertain a motion by Microsoft to delay while they explore the options. They have until Friday.

I think he has his mind made up already ;-))

Dr. Mordrid



[This message has been edited by DrMordrid (edited 25 May 2000).]

[Pertti]

Yessss....

I really like the idea of having IE separated from the OS (no, I am still using IE3.02)

Maybe we now have at least some hope of getting back the Operating System

Pertti

[paulw]

Maybe we will see MS Office for Linux??

[wkulecz]

This idea has been kicking around since MS was first found "guilty" with the slight variation of Systems, Applications, and Services as the three companies. I don't see how IE can be a "product" without MSN and Dish Network TV etc.

This has always seemed to make the most sense to me. But I wonder how long MSN can survive without the other two sources of income to keep it afloat?

[Elie]

If I was in Microsoft's shoes, I would packup and move to Mexico, No laws there
I think Bill Gates will be president of one the three companies at least eh?

Cheers,
Elie

[DrMordrid]

Actually Mexico wouldn't work. NAFTA, remember? ;-)) He'd probably have better luck in China....

I could see a company consisting of IE, MSN and the other internet related modules. The problem is they might get eaten alive.

Dr. Mordrid


[This message has been edited by DrMordrid (edited 25 May 2000).]

[Mark F]

Microsoft leased a large space in an Asian (Tiwan I think) Tech Park, earlier this week. HMMM, wonder if they know this was comeing?

Anyway it's all academic for now. The judge has shown himself to not be impartial (guess his Windows BSODed on him one too many times). And this should make it easy for M$ to appeal with the 'penalties' pushed back many years if ever (or even have the disision set aside).

IE surtainly can't stand on it's own. An Internet division might have a shot, but... Oh what irony, in this day and age of Internet everthing; a broken M$'s weakest part would be in the Internet arena.

Mark F.

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OH NO, my retractable cup holder swallowed a DVD...
and burped out a movie




[This message has been edited by Mark F (edited 25 May 2000).]

[Brian Ellis]

Hi!

A little bit of whimsy ... What will the IRS say if their biggest direct and indirect club member ups hooks and away...? A 5% increase in taxes for everyone who stays?

Anyway, I'm sure that whether it's 1, 2 or 3 companies, William will stay the big boss, as majority shareholder, of each of them and the no collusion clause is clearly unenforceable.

As a furriner, I have no say on US politics, but if you are on the side of Gates, vote for Bush or, if you are against him, vote for Gore. Viewed from outside, it is difficult to see which is the less worse of two evils. It has never ceased to amaze me that, since Woodrow Wilson, a country boasting of a 250M population can never find a couple of better candidates for the major parties.

Revenons à nos moutons, Gates has a large campus already established at Bangalore where a goodly part of the more complex software development is already done. India is about the only country in the world with a policy of high-level software engineering chairs in many of the universities and there are plenty of programmers of superb quality available.

However, I venture to suggest that this pressure on MS by Judge Thomas may also be partially due to the I Love You worm which would not have been propagated had Outlook been properly programmed in the first place. I've little doubt that his IT experts have carefully informed him that 90%++ of all viruses, worms, Trojan horses and suchlike bugs all exploit the weaknesses of MS software, which have not been written with security in mind.

As for PaulW, words (almost) fail me, wanting MS Office Suite for Linux. Even the Windows version is the worst such suite available, unreliable, prone to all sorts of mischief and lacking many useful features. Anyone who has used a competitive suite, such as Corel or StarOffice (both of whom already have Linux versions), will know that these are, by far, superior to the MS trash that has been forced on the unsuspecting consumer by unethical marketing. For God's sake, let's keep Microsoft away from Linux before they bugger that up as well!

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Brian (the terrible)

[Pertti]

Doesn't everybody just love the MS*** O**fice, especially the -97 and up versions
Of course they had to rewrite the fileformat to make sure that no-one could continue using the older (better) versions in business environment.

[Fred H]

Warning!
If you upgrade Office 2000 with service pack 1 then you MUST register it, otherways Office 2000 stops after 50 startups.
It's the latest surprize from Micro $oft

[Biker]

Brian I enjoyed your letter - lots!

Biker

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[Brian Ellis]

FredH

And if it's on a standalone computer without modem, as is the case of thousands in industry?

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Brian (the terrible)

[Pertti]

Brian,

B.F. Gates has Internet connection in all of his machines, why should he care

[Mark F]

The next M$ inovation-

M$ LINUX, we can make it crash!

M$ LINUX, no more of this stability crap!

Add you own, you get the idea.

Mark F.



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OH NO, my retractable cup holder swallowed a DVD...
and burped out a movie

[Flying dutchman]

I would salute the splitting up of Microsoft, because:

- I think it's outrageous that MS products like MS-office, Internet Explorer and Visual Studio dare to replace tons of Windows system files.
After installing an MS product, it's always a surprise if Windows remains stable. If I were to market a product that did likewise, they'd sue my head off.


-I think it's outrageous that B. Gates tries to tweak standards in such a way, that they force you to use Windows. One example is, of course, HTML; Many websites will only display correctly if you have the Internet explorer.

-MS is still VERY actively monopolizing in spite of the judge's verdict. One notorious example that directly touches us is the ASF format; Avery Lee was forced to retract ASF support from VirtualDub.