[NTLUG:Discuss] Java Support?

[Steve Baker]

Kenneth Loafman wrote:
> 
> > This seems an amazingly arrogant thing of M$ to do so soon before
> > the impending next-round of anti-trust litigation.
> 
> Arrogant yes, but why should they care?

Well, they have made a few very cosmetic nods towards reforming
themselves, there were two recent announcements:

1) The decided to allow hardware vendors to remove the Internet
   Explorer Icon from the desktop on pre-installed copies of
   Windoze.

2) They announced that they would cooperate with Ximian over
   development of 'MONO' (which is the OpenSource alternative
   to Microsoft's '.NET' initiative).

On the surface, these make it look like we are seeing a
reformed company.  However, as is typical with M$ concessions,
neither of these helps at all because:

1) They *still* require Internet Explorer to be installed,
   and they don't allow people to take it out of the START
   menu.  Also (I'm told) the new Windoze XP won't *have*
   desktop icons.  So this was rather an empty gesture.

   Besides, I can't see much enthusiasm amongst hardware
   vendors for doing this, "Doesn't Have Internet Explorer"
   doesn't seem like a big selling point to me.

2) After their big hoopla about their impending support
   of MONO, they released a press announcement that
   basically said that they doubted that MONO could be
   completed because certain Microsoft technologies that
   are key to ".NET" are patented by Microsoft...so much
   for cooperation!

   If I was a MONO developer, I'd have been pretty nervous
   about "swimming with the sharks" anyway - I wouldn't
   *want* Microsoft employees deeply envolved with the
   coding of such a thing.

>  They own the courts and with
> Bush in office, they own the executive branch.  What's left, a bunch
> of senators and representatives that get bunches of money in their
> campaing coffers?  Do you think they'll vote against M$?

With the failure of Campaign Finance Reform last week, M$
can continue to spread money around quite lavishly.  As a British
Citizen, I'm quite horrified at the corruptness of American
politics...it's unbelievable.  The British electoral system is
far from perfect - but we do put a sharp cap on the amount that
politicians can spend on political campaigns and use public
money to fund much of their election expenses - so whilst a
company like M$ could donate a lot of money to a political
party, they shouldn't be able to increase that party's chance
of getting elected.
 
> M$ is taking over and short of a full-up revolution, we can't stop it.

Well, I'm not ready to give up just yet.
 
> Can you say M$-Internet?

Not without it sticking in my throat.

----------------------------- Steve Baker -------------------------------
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