Windows Vista's Constant HD Activity Craziness
,----[ Quote ]
| Any user that has used Windows XP and updating to Vista will notice one
| thing: In Vista, your hard drive thinks it's a bewitched lawnmower – it's
| always active. Even after all startup programs are loaded, the HD is still
| active: Vista's Constant HD Activity Craziness.
`----
http://texhex.blogspot.com/2007/11/windows-vistas-constant-hd-activity.html
This resource pig behaviour cannot be disabled, according to Google who
resorted to antitrust (even if/when Google Desktop is used, for example,
Microsoft slurps resources for its own benefit).
As a reminder (more below), Google complained, but Microsoft used its
sockpuppets in House to thwart opposition. Microsoft is _ABOVE_ US law. It can
violate clear court orders and then pay its way out of scrutiny.
Related:
Does Google Have Another Move in Vista Chess Game?
,----[ Quote ]
| Google's protests over the way desktop search is handled in Microsoft's
| Vista OS have so far fallen on deaf ears. A U.S. district judge denied
| Google's request to extend Microsoft's antitrust agreement with federal
| and state governments, essentially saying the matter was none of
| Google's business. The judge suggested that Google appeal to DoJ,
| which has shown no sympathy for the search giant.
`----
http://technewsworld.com/story/ekZ8GFQxbGgXwd/Does-Google-Have-Another-Move-in-Vista-Chess-Game.xhtml
Google calls for greater Windows Vista openness
,----[ Quote ]
| Seattle PI has quoted David Drummond, Google's chief legal officer,
| saying: "These remedies are a step in the right direction, but they
| should be improved further to give consumers greater access to
| alternate desktop search providers."
`----
http://www.channelregister.co.uk/2007/06/20/google_windows_vista_search/
Microsoft Finds Legal Defender in Justice Dept.
,----[ Quote ]
| Nearly a decade after the government began its landmark effort to break
| up Microsoft, the Bush administration has sharply changed course by
| repeatedly defending the company both in the United States and abroad
| against accusations of anticompetitive conduct, including the recent
| rejection of a complaint by Google.
|
| [...]
|
| In the most striking recent example of the policy shift, the top
| antitrust official at the Justice Department last month urged state
| prosecutors to reject a confidential antitrust complaint filed by
| Google that is tied to a consent decree that monitors Microsoft's
| behavior. Google has accused Microsoft of designing its latest
| operating system, Vista, to discourage the use of Google's desktop
| search program, lawyers involved in the case said.
`----
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/10/business/10microsoft.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin
Software rivals say Microsoft's Vista illegal in Europe
,----[ Excerpt ]
| Software manufacturers, citing 2004 European Commission finding,
| contend the operating system violates server laws in Europe.
`----
http://money.cnn.com/2007/01/26/news/international/bc.vista.microsoft.eu.reut/index.htm?source=yahoo_quote
US politicians go to bat for Microsoft
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/09/26/microsoft_eu_political_lobbying/
Report Says Nonprofits Sold Influence to Abramoff
,----[ Quote ]
| E-mails released by the committee show that Abramoff, often
| with the knowledge of the groups' leaders, exploited the tax-exempt
| status and leveraged the stature of the organizations to build
| support among conservatives for legislation or government action
| sought by clients including Microsoft Corp., mutual fund company
| DH2 Inc., Primedia Inc.'s Channel One Network, and Brown-Forman,
| maker of Jack Daniel's whiskey.
`----
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/12/AR2006101200889.html
http://tinyurl.com/y2rbpu
Politicians in Microsoft's Pocket
,----[ Quote ]
| Continuing on the theme of which politicians are receiving money from
| who. Here is a list of candidates who took money from MSFT.
`----
http://www.fonz.net/blog/archives/2007/06/04/politicians-in-microsofts-pocket/
Politics and tech companies: follow the money
,----[ Quote ]
| Microsoft took first place with $651,100 given out, while
| Hewlett-Packard gave only $185,550, and Gateway gave a paltry
| $2,000. Microsoft's donations certainly illustrate well the true
| size of the company and the extent of its political concerns.
`----
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20061110-8194.html
Feds seek formal extension of Microsoft antitrust deal
,----[ Quote ]
| The U.S. Department of Justice and Microsoft on Wednesday filed a
| formal application for a two-year extension of portions of their
| landmark antitrust settlement, with the possibility of stretching it
| until 2012.
`---- ^^^^
http://news.zdnet.com/2100-3513_22-6111240.html
ECIS Accuses Microsoft of Plotting HTML Hijack
,----[ Quote ]
| An industry coalition that has represented competitors of Microsoft
| in European markets before the European Commission stepped up its
| public relations offensive this morning, this time accusing
| Microsoft of scheming to upset HTML's place in the fabric of
| the Internet with XAML, an XML-based layout lexicon forn
| etwork applications.
`----
http://www.betanews.com/article/ECIS_Accuses_Microsoft_of_Plotting_HTML_Hijack/1169824569
Software rivals say Microsoft's Vista illegal in Europe (at CNNMoney.com)
,----[ Excerpt ]
| Software manufacturers, citing 2004 European Commission finding,
| contend the operating system violates server laws in Europe.
|
| [...]
|
| "Vista is the first step of Microsoft's strategy to extend its market
| dominance to the Internet," the ECIS statement said.
|
| It said Microsoft's XAML markup language was "positioned to replace HTML,"
| the industry standard for publishing documents on the Internet.
|
| Microsoft's own language would be dependent on Windows, and discriminatory
| against rival systems such as Linux, the group says.
|
| They said a so-called "open XML" platform file format, known as OOXML, is
| designed to run seamlessly only on the Microsoft Office platform.
`----
http://money.cnn.com/2007/01/26/news/international/bc.vista.microsoft.eu.reut/index.htm?source=yahoo_quote
|
|