Jeff Vian >> It is a Microsoft problem as we see stated in the article, "Linux >> evangelist John H. Terpstra told me: "Microsoft has used its market >> dominance to coerce OEMs (original equipment manufacturers) and >> resellers not to sell competing products and services." Mike McCarty: > co.erce - v co.erced, co.erc.ing v.t. 1 To constrain by force, > law, authority, or fear; compel 2 To bring into subjection or > under control by superior force; repress 3 To bring about by > coercion: to /coerce/ obedience - v.i. 4 To use coercive > measures, as in government. See synonyms under COMPEL. > > Please state what, exactly, is this "coerce" that MicroSoft has > done. Isn't that the cases where Microsoft has done things like: If you want the information you need to make your device Windows compliant/compatible, you have to agree to our terms. The same tricks they'd did with ISPs about if you want "help" in some way, you have to agree not to support non-Microsoft products. If you want the right to say Windows compatible (or the rights to use similar logo stamps of aproval on the box, etc.), the same sort of thing. >> While all hardware vendors have the right to chose what/what not to >> release in the areas of drivers and hardware, it is very difficult to >> get an even playing field when the big boy uses coercion to tell the >> vendor that if he does not play by the big boy's rules he will lose out. >> This stinks of the old mob tactics of the protection racket. > Oh, so MicroSoft has done such a good job of porting its software > to many different hardware platforms, that it is difficult for > others to do as well? MicroSoft has risked so much capital > in purchasing the documentation on how to use some proprietary > hardware that others who are unwilling to do so have a problem > competing? Have they really? What other than bog-standard PCs do you see Microsoft Windows running on? And with the huge profits they have, and the almost complete monopoly they have of the market, how much of a "risk" are they really taking to expand their market even further? -- Don't send private replies to my address, the mailbox is ignored. I read messages from the public lists.
