[email protected] wrote:
Chad wrote:
Extortion? omg. When was the last time Bill Gates rolled up on somebody
Ever been subject to an audit by the BSA?
I seem to have missed Chad's original response, however evidence of said
extortion came out in the Microsoft trial, back in the late '90s. One
example was MS refused to license Windows 95 to IBM at a reasonable
price, until IBM agreed to stop marketing OS/2. If IBM hadn't done so,
they couldn't have sold systems loaded with Windows at a competitive
price. There have been many other examples. For further info, read the
trial transcripts, along with some books such as "World War 3.0:
Microsoft and its enemies" or "Netscape Time". There was another book,
can't remember the title, about Word Perfect, which also covered some of
the MS bad behaviour. There are other sources as well.
If you haven't, here is how much it will cost you:
Multiply the number of computers you have by $2,500. That is roughly
the amount you will pay in damages, for your legally acquired software.
with a glock and said install Windows or get capped?
The working assumption of the BSA is that Windows is the only legally
acceptable operating system. They have been known to require the
purchase of Windows XP, for computers running Solaris, because Solaris
is "pirated Windows XP Server". [I don't remember the outcome of that
court case, but having to pay an attorney to prove to a court that the
BSA employees are idiots is legal extortion.]
Further, that "certificate of authenticity" attached to a computer
bought with Windows is not sufficient proof of a valid license, which
some companies have found out the hard way.
>Nobody forced Windows down anyone's throat.
Only if you discount the distribution agreements that prohibit selling,
or distribution of competing products --- especially operating systems
--- that they required vendors to sign.
>Could your employer require Windows? Sure they could.
It isn't just an employer issue.
You might not realize it, but there are organizations like schools,
colleges, hospitals, professional associations, law courts, etc that
require documents to be submitted in a format that requires an
application that is only available for the windows operating system.
Nobody's threatening you with bodily harm if you do not use Microsoft
products.
Legal harm, which is more expensive in both the short term, and long
term, than bodily harm.
xan
jonathon
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