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Stop the spectrum auction madness
,----[ Quote ]
| When a company pays billions of dollars for a monopoly on the use of
| spectrum, it can only get that money back by charging you a lot of money to
| use it.
|
| That money is a tax, a spectrum tax, one you pay on every phone call you
| make, and every ringtone you download.
|
| But it’s your spectrum. Yours and mine. The electromagnetic spectrum is not
| government property, and need not be private property. It is supposed to be
| regulated by the government in the public interest, to prevent interference.
`----
http://blogs.zdnet.com/open-source/?p=2496
Honest technology executives
,----[ Quote ]
| Wouldn't it be nice if just for one day that the top brass of the technology
| companies would actually tell us the truth? Can you imagine what it would be
| like?
|
| Microsoft CEO, Steve Ballmer: "Hey, I'm just a sales guy who's in over my
| head. I know I deserve to be fired, but I'm a great number two. Want to buy a
| copy of Vista with a free upgrade coupon for Windows Seven?
|
| Microsoft Chief Software Architect, Ray Ozzie: "Yes, please fire Ballmer with
| his dancing bear act and his broken volume control, and put me in charge.
| Now."
`----
http://blogs.computerworld.com/honest_technology_executives
Related:
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
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
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