Microsoft signs consent decree

November 2, 2001 10:01 AM

Microsoft signs consent decree with the US government to settle antitrust case. Settlement is fair, reasonable and good for consumers; It is time now to focus on challenges ahead for the industry and Economy, says Gates.
posted by riffola (23 comments total)

Microsoft has twelve months or till the release of Windows XP SP1 to make the required changes. Interestingly enough XP SP1 Hotfixes were available the day XP was released.
posted by riffola at 10:04 AM on November 2, 2001

I'm sure they will obey this consent decree just like they did last time. Oh, wait...
posted by Potsy at 10:07 AM on November 2, 2001

Is there a list of actual details of the agreement anywhere?

Is it just me, or does Bill Gates' statement sound like a statement you'd hear an impeached leader say? It reads like "I agree with the things the court said though I admit no guilt, and I'd like to get back to work making Microsoft as successful as possible again" and he adds all the crap about the economy to make us all feel guilty for daring to "stifle" his company.
posted by mathowie at 10:20 AM on November 2, 2001

Is it just me, or does Bill Gates' statement sound like a statement you'd hear an impeached leader say?

Yep. It also sounds as if he's lost his voice and is now a mere mouthpiece for his lawyers. Which is depressing. If someone so rich and powerful can't say what he thinks, what kind of a person is he? ( I was going to say "what hope is there for the rest of us?". Then I realized that the greatest advantage of not being rich and powerful is being able to speak your mind.)
I'm very disappointed. I like and admire Bill Gates. But preferred the sweaty, evasive and nervous Gates to this false, "impeached" robot spouting lawyerspeak. All his geekiness, i.e. humanity, seems to have disappeared. I just hope he's not going down the creepy, reclusive Howard Hughes road.

to make us all feel guilty for daring to "stifle" his company

There's also a clear tone of resentment, definitely.
posted by MiguelCardoso at 10:37 AM on November 2, 2001

In other news, Neville Chamberlain celebrated Hitler's signing of the Munich Pact. "Clearly we are in for a decade of peace now that Nazi Germany's military buildup, aggressive land grabs, and saber rattling at its neighbors is over," he said.
posted by johnmunsch at 10:46 AM on November 2, 2001

MS probably just bought the DOJ
posted by Qambient at 10:48 AM on November 2, 2001

I call Godwin on this thread.
posted by kindall at 10:49 AM on November 2, 2001

The details are in the Proposed Final Judgement.

According to TechTV:

The settlement would allow computer manufacturers to work with other software developers and place their products on Microsoft's Windows system, and prevent the software giant from punishing anyone who makes or uses competing products, the department said.

It would also require the software giant to provide software developers the necessary interfaces to interoperate with Windows as well as offer uniform licensing terms to key computer makers.
posted by riffola at 10:50 AM on November 2, 2001

Being the other side of this issue, the only good thing I see about the agreement is this: "Unless this Court grants an extension, this Final Judgment will expire on the fifth anniversary of the date it is entered by the Court."
posted by mw at 10:55 AM on November 2, 2001

If someone so rich and powerful can't say what he thinks, what kind of a person is he?

Someone who wants to be more rich and more powerful?
posted by alan at 10:56 AM on November 2, 2001

When I feel down, I read Bill Gates' testimony in the U.S. v. Microsoft trial, and I always find something new to chuckle about. A few dozen hanging chads go the other way, and we'd be talking about Baby Bills, not consent decrees.
posted by luser at 11:18 AM on November 2, 2001

alan: yikes, I hope you're wrong...
posted by MiguelCardoso at 11:22 AM on November 2, 2001

I propose a new drinking game, based on this article about the agreement.

Read it, and whenever anyone mentions the economy or health of the computer industry, take one drink.
posted by mathowie at 11:38 AM on November 2, 2001

Riffola--> of course...i'de assume that MS has had XP on disk for a while, and instead of changing them all, just sent it away. I mean, what's an MS program w/o flaws or being sent out too early?
posted by jmd82 at 12:17 PM on November 2, 2001

I am sorry MS settled, as I thought they were not doing anything ilegal. Still, I am just glad it is over now.
posted by thirteen at 12:23 PM on November 2, 2001

Huh. Well, not bad. The barn door has a nice little bolt stuck through its latch now. Nothing a couple husky lads and a keg of beer couldn't solve, of course, and nobody can quite figure out why anyone would want to tighten up such a dusty old disused barn anyway, but there it is. Good work, DOJ.

Really, this entire exercise was pointless. The trial started after the damage was done, and no amount of punishment can create a hole in the market big enough to bring back what Microsoft already destroyed. Like it or not, we all depend on them now, and the DoJ can't afford to do anything more than smack their wrists.

-Mars
posted by Mars Saxman at 1:52 PM on November 2, 2001

I call Godwin on this thread.

Will this meme ever die? Its way past its expiration date.
posted by skallas at 4:44 PM on November 2, 2001

Will this meme ever die? Its way past its expiration date.

Only a nazi would say goodwin's law should die.
posted by mathowie at 4:52 PM on November 2, 2001

The trial started after the damage was done

New day, new damage. No worries.
posted by rushmc at 5:54 PM on November 2, 2001

I just installed XP and the updates to it that were relased on the same day XP was, and im getting nauseous with MSN messenger starting up when i didnt ask it to. as if that wasnt enough, the advertisements for the MSN internet service is just plain rampant. the little popup asking to get a .net passport to access the net and MSN explorer/messenger being preinstalled is enough. all this crap and they didnt include the javaVM i smell another lawsuit for M$. i guess the thing to remember is that M$ is a company interested in making money and somtime after that the customer comes in.

btw what is godwin?
posted by AntonioCr at 5:54 PM on November 2, 2001

New day, new damage. No worries.

Maybe, but I was fond of the personal computer software industry, back when such a thing existed, and the fact that Microsoft may have been slightly impeded in its quest to consume more markets is slim consolation. Three companies (Microsoft, AOL, and Adobe, in that order) now own nearly all of the software nearly everyone uses. If you want to write PC software, your choices are: become a corporate drone, find a vertical market, or fight over the scraps the big guys don't want with all the other tiny companies whose biggest hope is to be noticed and bought out by one of the giants.

Furthermore, with an unassailable power base in computer software, Microsoft has the resources to take on pretty much anything they want. If they had been prevented from growing so big in the first place, they wouldn't be such a problem now.

But my bitching doesn't change anything now.

-Mars
posted by Mars Saxman at 8:07 PM on November 2, 2001

Maybe, but I was fond of the personal computer software industry, back when such a thing existed, and the fact that Microsoft may have been slightly impeded in its quest to consume more markets is slim consolation.

That's what I'm saying.
posted by rushmc at 9:09 PM on November 2, 2001

MS doesn't include Java in the install because of Sun's lawsuit.
posted by riffola at 10:31 PM on November 4, 2001