Opera Releases Bork Edition heh heh

[dOpefiSh]

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our conversation here is about the legal/technical law that MS is being punished under which is vague at best and is being violated by handing out much greater punishment than the written law allows

also, neither of you commented on the actual written law that I cut/pasted verbatim...according to the LAW CREATED BY THE GOVERNMENT AND BEING USED BY THE GOVERNMENT AGAINST MS, what is the MAXIMUM penalty...come on guys, you can say it

bottom line is that, even if MS were guilty, the penalty would be insignificant...

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I think you have to distinguish between inflicting punishment ($5K fines) and actions that intend to "prevent and restrain such violations" (SATA) You're right, thousands of dollars in fines couldn't possibly hurt MS - but per Sherman, prosecutors should also be looking to prevent further abuse not just to punish past abuse.

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SEC. 4. The several circuit courts of the United States are hereby invested with jurisdiction to prevent and restrain violations of this act; and it shall be the duty of the several district attorneys of the United States, in their respective districts, under the direction of the Attorney-General, to institute proceedings in equity to prevent and restrain such violations.

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[pturner67]

I agree with you 100% on that...wooohhooo!! we agree!!! LOL

$5K is a drop in the bucket for MS and wouldn't deter future wrongdoings...but, should we break up any and all companies who do things wrong?

I don't have a solution, man...never claimed to either...lol...

and, don't get me wrong here...I do not work for MS not do I think every product they make is good...I just think MS is getting the shaft

anyway, this issue will be argued til the end of time...sorry if I came across as an a**hole zealot before...just got a little passionate and carried away

[dOpefiSh]

Obviously folks could argue the MS saga until they're 6ft under. Me, I'm on the side that says we had a chance to really force changes in MS's behaviour to everyone's benefit and we blew it. I think consumers got the shaft on this one.

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$5K is a drop in the bucket for MS and wouldn't deter future wrongdoings...but, should we break up any and all companies who do things wrong?

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Breaking them up is certainly extreme, and I don't necessarily agree with it, but it was only one of many options. Something had to be done, and it had to be substantial.

On one hand are valid arguments for minimizing government's intervention into the market, but on the other hand our market system is not a 'perfect' market to begin with - there are countless factors that skew and pervert it's theoretical operation. Additionally, what's good for the consumer/general public is often in conflict with what's good for the company and someone has to step in and act on behalf of the public.

If a company violates the law, then yes, actions should be taken to remedy the situation. Again, not necessarily to punish, but to prevent further offense.

[pturner67]

well, it isn't over yet...there is still plenty of chance for MS to be hurt/punished over all this stuff

I think one really good thing that came out of this is that MS now knows that they are being scrutinized VERY closely from here on out...it's like everyone is wanting to sue MS now...look at Sun...booohhooo...MS didn't want to include their Java in the new OS...LOL...well, guess what Sun, MS didn't want to buy my 95 Passat GLX either...so frickin what...LOL...Sun is just admitting that their success as a company depends almost solely upon MS...pretty pathetic to put all their eggs into one basket...lol

[dOpefiSh]

With the judge accepting the seAttlement, I don't see much chance of further remedies being instituted.

I think the descriptions in this thread of the Sun-Java-MS dispute have seriously distorted the issue. Sun didn't sue MS just because they wanted to force MS to distribute Java (or buy their GLX ). Microsoft was shipping a version of Java that was intentionally incompatible with the existing standard, with the goal of damaging the Java market in favor of .Net. The judge likened it to Tonya Harding's kneecapping of Nancy Kerrigan. Deliberately anti-competitive.

Oh and while we're here - there's another error in some previous threads (not necessarily yours, pturner) - Opera didn't sue MS over this MSN incompatibility and as far as I can recall, they've never sued MS over anything. They're simply addressing quite publicly what seems to be another of MS's underhanded little jabs at competitors.

[DEUCE SLUICE]

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. They're simply addressing quite publicly what seems to be another of MS's underhanded little jabs at competitors.

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yup, and i think it's pretty clever/funny/appropriate. but i don't think lots of opera uses would go to msn's website anyways so....plus you have to download a special edition that SPECIFICALLY makes it do this. so i don't think anyone should see this other than opera trying to make a subtle yet valid point about how MSN is still trying to inhibit its competitors.

[Hostile]

Necro spam.