-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- Hash: SHA1 Todd Walton wrote: >> a. Stac Electronics > > Stac Electronics v. Microsoft. Stac Electronics won and Microsoft was > ordered to pay over $100 million to Stac. > >> b. Sun Java > > Microsoft settled, ceased the infringing activity, and paid Sun $20 million.
The point is that they never should have done these things. It was quite dishonest. A classic case of "better to beg forgiveness than ask permission" because had they asked permission these things would never have happened. They were found guilty and made to pay. Unfortunately what they were made to pay was not nearly enough to undo the damage that was done. Java isn't exactly the hit Sun would like it to be and I haven't heard anything from Stac in years. > > >>Purposely breaking competitors software then blaming the competitor, >>or lying about it. >> >> a. DRDOS > > > Originally, Microsoft stole CP/M code. They were discovered, taken to > court, and Digital Research won, receiving money, and the right to > clone DOS. Digital Research created DR DOS from MS DOS. DR-DOS was a complete failure in the marketplace because every system came with MS-DOS pre-installed which was good enough. My understanding is that MS bought DOS from Seattle Computer Products. Did they then steal CP/M code and integrate it with the code they got from SCP or was it SCP who stole the CP/M code? > Later, Microsoft made Windows to only run on MS DOS, on purpose, by > detecting if it was being run on other DOSs and aborting. That's See also: "DOS ain't done 'till Lotus won't run!" > Markets are not an even playing field by their very nature, and in > fact it's the unevenness that makes markets desirable. To paraphrase A certain amount of unevenness, yes. But sometimes things get way out of balance to the detriment of the economy. Industries where there are serious network effects are historically very vulnerable. Software, telcos, transportation, etc. > And you get to decide "legitimate" or the purchaser does? Often the purchaser is not empowered to decide. - -- Tracy R Reed http://ultraviolet.org -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: GnuPG v1.2.6 (GNU/Linux) Comment: Using GnuPG with Thunderbird - http://enigmail.mozdev.org iD8DBQFCgwV69PIYKZYVAq0RAuohAJ9oXUyHw9Qp7DzljDSl6DTQCf5jjQCdFSNy oeCordoNOy3yZV9xBFmhyVA= =eSU0 -----END PGP SIGNATURE----- -- [email protected] http://www.kernel-panic.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/kplug-list
