Journal Alioth's Journal: Is it just me or has the average IQ.... 5
...of Slashdotters gone down? Or is it just a bunch of trolls?
It seems like any article discussing the unbundling of Internet Explorer from Windows seems to *repeatedly* contain versions of this comment:
"Why isn't Apple forced to unbundle Safari? Why isn't Canonical forced to unbundle FF from Ubuntu?" - well, neither Apple nor Canonical have been found guilty of breaking monopoly legislation with the bundling of browsers.
"How is the user going to get a browser if one isn't installed by default?" - Oh come on, it's not rocket science to supply a simple tool to allow the user to download and install one of the browsers available today! Any competent developer could knock up such a tool in an afternoon including a 2 hour coffee break. It's not like unbundling the browser means the TCP/IP stack has gone, too. In any case, hardly anyone actually installs Windows, most normal users have it preinstalled on a PC, and the OEM will ship some sort of browser. OEMs are already shipping things like Google Desktop, it's hardly a big leap to add Firefox or Chrome or whatever to the image.
The best comments by far are those of they type "if the European Union punishes Microsoft for breaking EU law, then Microsoft should retaliate by pulling out of the EU market". Firstly, that sort of action would result in the instant slaughter of the Microsoft board by the shareholders (the EU market for software is larger than the entire North American market), and secondly, it would immediately and clearly demonstrate how dangerous the MS monopoly is - and cause EU companies and states to switch to alternatives. This in turn would mean the widespread acceptance of the alternatives to Windows (which in the desktop market doesn't really exist at present), and therefore damage Microsoft's markets in the rest of the world - especially the market for MS Office if everyone in the EU stopped using it.
This is a good thing (Score:2)
Why (Score:2)
The comments about Microsoft pulling out of the EU entirely are indeed moronic.
However, I don't see unbundling the browser as a good solution to the problem. Rather, I see the inclusion and availability of competing products as being the best way forward. I've wanted to see an apt-like setup available for Windows for a few years now, and I think that would solve the problem handily. With a lot of work, cygwin might come close if one adds things like cygwin-apt [wordpress.com] and an aptitude/synaptic program. Valve may
Re: (Score:1)
I don't see why anything needs done at all. Microsoft makes a product for Microsoft's benefit. There's available competition and Microsoft is not doing anything unfair to stifle it, they're just offering a bundle of their products as an enticement. If people don't know about it, or don't care, that's not Microsoft's problem. It should not be their job to advertise for their competitors.
And I'm not being trollish or glib. I just think that if the government has a problem with PC users not being educated on a
Re: (Score:2)
I don't see why anything needs done at all. Microsoft makes a product for Microsoft's benefit. There's available competition and Microsoft is not doing anything unfair to stifle it, they're just offering a bundle of their products as an enticement. If people don't know about it, or don't care, that's not Microsoft's problem. It should not be their job to advertise for their competitors.
That's a perfectly internally-consistent argument. But it's missing one piece of information: They don't have any competitors, as far as Internet Explorer is concerned. Sure, there are browsers that compete for market share. But dollars? I don't see any way that Microsoft gains revenue by shipping with Internet Explorer as opposed to Opera or Firefox.
And I'm not being trollish or glib. I just think that if the government has a problem with PC users not being educated on all the options or on the problems with Microsoft's products, then they ought to take it upon themselves to launch a public education campaign. I think that would be a lot more beneficial overall than trying to dictate Microsoft's business to Microsoft anyway. Countries all over the world are filled with PC users who don't know jack squat about browsers or basic security or pc maintenance. Instead of trying to punish Microsoft for being successful, maybe we ought to instead focus on educating users so they can make more informed and intelligent choices for themselves.
Microsoft violated laws that were written in response to the great monopolies and oligarchies of the 19th and early 20th centuries. They engaged in anti-c
Its not you (Score:2)