[ale] Dan Gillmor on Microsoft

[Jonathan Glass]

Of course, it is easy to show record profits when you are running a scam.  Check
out:
http://www.billparish.com/msftfraudfacts.html
(as posted by others on this list before).

Jonathan

Quoting Dow Hurst <dhurst at kennesaw.edu>:

> I should clarify:
> 
> I am normally a happy up kind of person.  However, recent political 
> decisions such as DMCA and it ramifications, plus Palladium, the 
> government's obstinate blindeye stance toward MicroSoft, and MicroSoft's
> 
> continued success in spite of their trangressions, have been really 
> depressing to be reminded of.  I don't really want a different list and
> 
> I appreciate all the posts for the informational content.  This is 
> really the only list I've found worth following on a daily basis.  So I
> 
> apologize for my attitude lately.  I am sure that if we individually do
> 
> what American citizens have the right to do, speak up politically, that
> 
> we will have done our duty.  I will do my best to do mine.
> 
> I did enjoy the days when Linux was all that we talked about and we 
> could ignore politics and MS antics.  Those days are over and the battle
> 
> is in full force.  Almost feels like Lord of the Rings or a Biblical 
> type confrontation between David and Goliath. ;-)   Let's not let this
> 
> post develop into a huge OT elephant though.  Thanks,
> Dow
> 
> 
> Jim wrote:
> 
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> >Microsoft is reporting record profits from the last quarter, which they
> 
> >attribute largely to their new, extortionary licensing scheme. I
> thought 
> >htese words from Silicon Valley columnist Dan Gillmor were worth
> sharing with 
> >everybody on the list:
> >
> >Microsoft Piggy Bank Tops $40 Billion
> >Posted by Dan Gillmor
> >
> >What happens when a monopolist raises prices? One guess.
> >
> >Microsoft hit the jackpot in the most recent quarter, ringing up a
> staggering 
> >$4 billion profit on sales of $7.7 billion. I hope reporters covering
> this 
> >story note some of the subtleties, including Microsoft's strategy of
> not 
> >counting some of the profits until later years and its continual
> accumulation 
> >of cash.
> >
> >As of Sept. 30, Microsoft had gone over the $40 billion mark in cash
> and 
> >short-term investments (effectively the same). Think about that -- $40
> 
> >billion.
> >
> >What is Microsoft going to do with this money? They can't spend it fast
> enough 
> >internally, and the top shareholders, who control the company, refuse
> to 
> >issue dividends (this saves Bill Gates et al billions in taxes).
> Prediction: 
> >Once Microsoft is out from under what's left of the antitrust case,
> it'll go 
> >on a strategic investment and acquisition spree the likes of which you
> cannot 
> >even imagine.
> >
> >The monopoly continues, unabated, and could even grow stronger.
> Innovation is 
> >almost dead in desktop software, where Microsoft has sucked the
> financial 
> >oxygen out of the system. The company's behavior doesn't improve. It's
> no 
> >coincidence. Too bad we no longer have a government that's willing to
> enforce 
> >the antitrust laws, and technology buyers who feel so trapped they
> won't even 
> >consider alternatives. Life, circa 2002.
> >
>
>http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/business/columnists/dan_gillmor/ejournal/4307752.htm
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> >
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> -- 
> __________________________________________________________
> Dow Hurst                  Office: 770-499-3428
> Systems Support Specialist    Fax: 770-423-6744
> 1000 Chastain Rd., Bldg. 12
> Chemistry Department SC428  Email:dhurst at kennesaw.edu
> Kennesaw State University         Dow.Hurst at mindspring.com
> Kennesaw, GA 30144
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Jonathan Glass
Systems Support Specialist II
IBB/BME
V: 404-385-0127
F: 404-892-2291

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