OT: Microsoft Settlement, Class Action Options

[d7n7master]

Hi All (IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/wavey.gif)
If you haven't heard, us Cal folks have some microsoft money coming our way.
Wouldn't want any of us 2 miss-out. Hurry quick. 1/8/05 is the last postmark accepted.
Quick!!! Go to:
www.microsoftcalsettlement.com (IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/beerchug.gif)

[soloracer]

mohnliting:

It's a good thing that you had a choice other than Chevy in your case. However, what if the only choices other than a Chevy were foreign makes that had no local support for parts because Chevy controlled the distribution of parts? I guess what I am saying is that I don't see a viable alternative to Microsoft right now. Linux doesn't have the large support network that Windows has (partly due to the before mentioned tactics of Microsoft) and Mac's are not being used by most businesses. So if you are a working professional and have to take work home with you are pretty much stuck with a pentium based machine with Windows. Just like if you want to drive to work for any distance you are going to have to get a car that burns gasoline (damn oil companies....) (IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/wink.gif) I'm not saying that Microsoft is all bad. They do some things very well and I still remember a time when we had too many alternatives - so many that you would almost have to get 4 different machines to use all the programs you needed. At least Windows consolidated all the programs on one platform. What would be perfect is if the Windows operating system was made by several different software companies - sort of the same way as how PC's are now made by several different companies (Dell, Compaq, etc.) using the same components.

Skline: Don't blame the salesman. It wasn't the "salesman" who had his e-mails being confiscated. It was senior management (Bill Gates, Paul Allen, etc.) I'm in sales and can tell you that the sales people act on direction given by senior management. It would not be the act of one salesperson that would cause such an investigation. Otherwise he would be fired by management and there would never be a huge lawsuit going on. A lawsuit happens because the senior managment has set a direction and approved behavior. You sound just like all the higher ups at Enron and Arthur Anderson who want to blame their misbehavior on some lower level people by stating "we didn't know what was going on". Bullshit. Believe it or not sales people are not all "greedy" as you suggest. Usually they are driven by senior managers who want more money or more power. In the case if Bill Gates it would be a power and control thing. He's already a billionaire - how much more money does he need or necessarily want do you think? In his case it was POWER and CONTROL. I believe he would like to be the only one who decides the direction that the computer industry goes. And one way to do that would be to limit the viable alternatives available to people. Do you honestly think Internet Explorer was bundled with Windows because Bill Gates gave a damn about giving the customer "more functionality"? Or do you think that maybe he wanted to control how we all went to the internet and thus give him control on what we see and do when we are there?