The European Union's pro open-source stance
,----[ Quote ]
| Undoubtedly Steve Ballmer will be on a plane within days to try to hector the
| EU into ceding its sovereignty to Microsoft again. (Btw, Ballmer beat the
| pulpit at Accel's recent CEO day, accusing open source of stealing
| Microsoft's intellectual property. This man dearly needs to get a life...and
| a clue.)
`----
http://www.cnet.com/8301-13505_1-9894179-16.html?part=rss&tag=feed&subj=TheOpenRoad
Time for Ballmer to plan some more briberies, proxy wars and what
Microsoft /itself/ calls "Jihad". Busines as usual.
....And some people insist Microsoft has changed.
From: http://www. microsoft.com/msft/SEC/default.mspx
“A prominent example of open source software is the Linux operating system.
Although we believe our products provide customers with significant advantages
in security, productivity, and total cost of ownership, the popularization of
the open source software model continues to pose a significant challenge to
our business model, including continuing efforts by proponents of open source
software to convince governments worldwide to mandate the use of open source
software in their purchase and deployment of software products. To the extent
open source software gains increasing market acceptance, sales of our products
may decline, we may have to reduce the prices we charge for our products, and
revenue and operating margins may consequently decline. ”
Recent:
Feeling the heat at Microsoft
,----[ Quote ]
| A couple of years ago you reiterated that IBM was Microsoft's biggest
| competitor and you said not just on the business side, but overall. If I ask
| you who is Microsoft's biggest competitor now, who would it be?
|
| Ballmer: Open...Linux. I don't want to say open source. Linux, certainly have
| to go with that.
`----
http://www.news.com/Feeling-the-heat-at-Microsoft/2008-1012_3-6232458.html?tag=ne.fd.mnbc
Can Ballmer pilot Microsoft through a changed tech course?
,----[ Quote ]
| Can Ballmer steer Microsoft out of the roadblocks?
|
| The highly competitive Ballmer, you might say, is the man who cried "nice."
| And like the boy who cried wolf, no one believed him. The software giant's
| attempt to make nice with much of the developer community by opening up its
| APIs for key products was greeted with a jaundiced eye by regulators at the
| powerful European Commission.
|
| However sincere Microsoft's stated change of heart may be, it is becoming
| clearer and clearer that Microsoft -- which knows it has to change -- is
| still struggling to find a fresher path.
|
| What's a poor CEO to do?
|
| Now that Bill Gates has effectively left the building, Ballmer is free to
| transform Microsoft, a job made all the tougher by the enormous reservoir of
| mistrust the company has engendered over the years.
|
| Case in point: the open APIs. Microsoft will give its competitors free access
| to the application programming interfaces and protocols it uses to ensure
| interoperability between its own products, a very significant change in
| business practices.
`----
http://weblog.infoworld.com/tech-bottom-line/archives/2008/02/microsoft_open.html
EU May Fine Microsoft Over Antitrust Case, People Say
,----[ Quote ]
| The fine may be announced as soon as Feb. 27, said the people, who declined
| to be identified because the decision isn't public. Microsoft said in a Jan.
| 24 U.S. regulatory filing that the penalty may be as much as 1.5 billion
| euros ($2.2 billion).
`----
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=conewsstory&refer=conews&tkr=MSFT:US&sid=aG8SwG8llTmM
Microsoft's Last Big Beat: Internet Domination or Death
,----[ Quote ]
| What can $44.6B USD mean? Well, for Microsoft (MSFT) it may mean the cost of
| survival.
`----
http://seekingalpha.com/article/63876-microsoft-s-last-big-beat-internet-domination-or-death?source=yahoo
Microsoft says to borrow money for Yahoo deal
,----[ Quote ]
| Microsoft Corp said on Monday it may borrow money for the first time in its
| history to fund a portion of its $44.6 billion unsolicited offer for Yahoo
| Inc.
`----
http://www.reuters.com/article/companyNews/idUSN0455692920080205
|
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