Eunuch Freeloaders

[Boon Mee]

I'm no big fan of Microsoft but the European Union - EUnuchs, ever the copycats because they can't come up with anything original (not surprising, considering how all their talent is living in the US), have decided to sue Microsoft.

Antitrust regulators from 15 member nations of the European Union will gather in Brussels on March 15 to discuss a European Commission antitrust ruling against Microsoft. The commission has drafted a preliminary ruling that finds Microsoft guilty of "abusing the dominant position" of its Windows operating system.

So what are the charges?

Microsoft is supposed to have violated antitrust law by by tying its music and video player software into Windows and that puts rivals at an unfair competitive advantage.

Right. Somebody needs to tell this to the thousands of companies cluttering up the shelves at CompUSA and Best Buy with cheap and superior media players, because the "unfair disadvantage" doesn't seem to have discouraged them none! And, they keep coming up with better & better stuff at discount.

The EU commission wants Microsoft to sell two versions of Windows: one with Windows Media Player stripped out and sold seperately and the other with the software included. That's brilliant. Now, the subjects of EUnuchistan will be fighting tooth and claw for the stripped versions.

The other issue the EUnuchs are bleating about, calling a "violation" is Microsoft is withholding information about how Windows works! The company has hindered competitors in the market for server software that runs networks. It seems that Microsoft's own server software works better on PC's than rivals' server systems do the EU Commission found.

No SH1T, Sherlock? Microsoft server software works better with Microsoft workstations? How in the he11 did they figure that out? Maybe Toyota parts work better in Toyota cars than, say, Peugeot parts? Imagine that. Better sue the Japanese too, right?

The problem is the people of EUnuchistan don't have anybody capable of creating a halfway playable version of "Pong" since they've all left for countries where they're actually allowed to benefit from their skills - rather than having the fruits of their labors confiscated and redistributed to layabout ne'erdowells, but that doesn't entitle the commie EUrinals to a free ride.

Leeches!

Boon Mee

[bigwetpatch]

Mr Mee,

This certainly is an inflammatory post. As I understand it you are saying it’s wrong of the EU to want a competitive market place. I have not been following this in the news so I can’t comment too much on it, but it doesn’t seem too objectionable to me. Every company in the world will push the boundaries of what they can and cannot get away with, in order for that company to maximize profits and keep the shareholder happy. Why do you think governments need to introduce minimum wages? Why do we have regulatory watchdogs in place to ensure consumers are getting fairly treated? Why have any laws at all that govern the way business’ should operate? It is absurd to suggest that business’ would operate on the straight and narrow without them.

Monopolies are particularly dangerous for consumers. You end up with poor quality goods that can be sold at vastly inflated prices.

So if there is a bit more effort into trying to reduce Microsoft’s stranglehold on the marketplace, I for 1 am all for it.

As for the other comments. Don’t you like Europe? You are as an American( I assume you are) merely a European/African spore. Is this akin to the teenage son who hates his Father?

The problem is the people of EUnuchistan don't have anybody capable of creating a halfway playable version of "Pong" since they've all left for countries where they're actually allowed to benefit from their skills - rather than having the fruits of their labors confiscated and redistributed to layabout ne'erdowells, but that doesn't entitle the commie EUrinals to a free ride.

I dont really understand this last paragraph, perhaps you can translate it into English for me,

regards,

BWP

[Georgie-Porgie]

As for the other comments. Don’t you like Europe? You are as an American( I assume you are) merely a European/African spore. Is this akin to the teenage son who hates his Father?

Sorry Mr. BWP EURinal, but we are Daddy now!

[bigwetpatch]

Yet more rudeness..in the above post i am being called a EUrinal...

It is no wonder you were evicted from this site, its a wonder it was not permanent.

BWT

[Jeepz]

BWP~

Yeah, some folks see Microsoft as evil incarnate. The equivalent of a robber baron from the days of Carnegie, Vanderbilt, and Rockefeller. There are points to be made on both sides of this issue. Microsoft is by no means the only choice of operating software, and the inclusion of features was once considered a good thing for consumers.

As Boon Mee pointed out, nothing is stopping people from producing and selling competitive software, and that does in fact occur. This argument raged around web browsers too when IE was "built into" Windows 95/98. Law suits by various states, federal investigation, civil suits, etc etc.

Netscape once owned most of the browser business, M$ mangaged to grab the big share. I do see the European point in that a bundled solution tilts things toward M$ since the purchaser already has a player, why go buy another one?

The reason for bundling, particularly with the media player isn't that it "plays media" or that its flexible, configurable, and good buy for the consumer. It's the advertising income and opportunities that it provides. You open their current version and you don't get window to select what is on your system to play, you get a whole lot of "what's hot now" advertising. Big bucks. And they (M$) doesn't want to let that lucrative market go away.

I admire much of what Microsoft has done. They've been a hard player in the market, but that's life. And due to IBM allowing clones to be built, along with M$'s push, computers are everywhere and they are relatively speaking, cheap. If Apple had dominated the market, based on their previous history, there would be a much more stable, easier to use, computer but only yuppies and business could afford them. Good technology but the marketing skills of a mastadon.

As to the tenor of the argument. Well, Boon Mee and Georgie-P are like many "Americans" and quite disenchanted with the EU. As the EU is with us. Some reasons valid on both sides, some simply because, as human beings, when we squabble we squabble vigorously, and occasionally without much civility.

Jeepz

[Boon Mee]

As for the other comments. Don’t you like Europe? You are as an American( I assume you are) merely a European/African spore. Is this akin to the teenage son who hates his Father?

The problem is the people of EUnuchistan don't have anybody capable of creating a halfway playable version of "Pong" since they've all left for countries where they're actually allowed to benefit from their skills - rather than having the fruits of their labors confiscated and redistributed to layabout ne'erdowells, but that doesn't entitle the commie EUrinals to a free ride.

I dont really understand this last paragraph, perhaps you can translate it into English for me,

regards,

BWP

I love Europe, just don't care for the governments over there. I lived & worked in France, Spain, Italy & the UK for years and love the place(s) but the socialist system of governments w/exception of Italy are putting a stranglehold on the people.

Why do most w/computer skills want to get over to the States?

Boon Mee

[Jeepz]

Boon Mee~

I don't know if these days the assumption that coders (programmers) and developers are trying to make it to our shores. I've seen guys that used to have really well paid software jobs (primarily writing code) that are unemployed, taking almost any job they can find. Including part time grunt work for the Postal Service.

Very scarey sight to see a guy in his late forties or early fifties taking a job that is a bit above minimum wage, but not much. And no guarantee of forty hours a week, more like 36 if they are lucky. Things get slow, they are sent home. No sick leave, no benefits, hired for 3 months and then if they produce, they may get another 3 month shot.

Part of it is because of the Internet boom/bust. But now many companies are hiring their coders out of India for dimes to the dollar of previous cost. I suppose some guy running his own start up might head to the states, but I'm not so sure of it anymore.

I am not saying that people don't see the United States as a good opportunity. But the recession which is supposedly over and we are now in recovery phase has been very slow to produce jobs. And techie jobs seem to be one of the hardest hit areas.

Jeepz

[Boon Mee]

Jeepz

Where I'm coming from w/regard to the EUnuchs has to do more with the attitude that prevails over there. First they get their asses burned when their idiot royalty have a go at each other and we (Americans) send our doughboys over to save themselves from themselves...OK, good, problem solved WW1 over, right? Wrong!

A little over two decades later they try fascism and nazism on for size, get their shrivelled nuts cought in the wringer and presto, off go our GIs to save their sorry asses again. Now, can we leave you home alone for a while without worrying about you setting the house on fire while we're gone?

Wait, what's that? The Soviets, you say? Well alright then we'll station our boys over there indefinitely then, paying for your defense while you pump all the money you save by refusing to defend yourselves into welfare for your lazy, no-good citizens. At least we'll save the cost of having to ferry our boys over the next time.

Five decades later the Soviets finally realize that they're no match for us and hoist the French, oops, meant to say, White flag. Yeah! It's over! We can all go home now and start spending trillions of American tax dollars on actual Americans, right? Wrong!!

Now the terminally screwed up EUnuchs decide to split up into dozens of nation states the size of my backyard and fight among themselves. The stupid tosspots sit impotently in Brussels and debate the curvature of cucumbers while the people of the Balkans are systematically wiped out by a madman. OK, here we go again. In go the GIs, out go the sh1theads.

Finally it looks like some semblance of peace is about to erupt in that rotten backwater of civilization that calls itself "Europe" when WHAM! The U S of A finds itself under attack. Well, surely you guys remember all that we've done for you and will line up to lend a hand, right? WRONG!! GWB was supposed to have masterminded the whole thing!!!

Sorry ######s...

Boon Mee

[bigwetpatch]

I am amazed you have the concentration span required to sit down and write all that out. Did someone e-mail you their thoughts and you cut and pasted them here as your own.

What utter mindless drivel. lets compare like for like here. 9/11 terrible tragedy, but hardly on the scale of the great war or second war.

And we are meant to be grateful for your assistance in them...<deleted> off there's my gratitude, I think it would have been preferable to have been succesfully invaded by the germans than listen to such <deleted>.

it beggers belief it really does. Fortunately i know other Americans with saner notions and so will not allow you to tar them all with your lunatic brush...Prat!!

I was looking for an emoticon with a penis coming out of its forehead, unfortunately i cannot find one.

[Boon Mee]

Don't y'all get your knickers in a twist now - I'm talking about the EU Government not to be confused with us working stiffs...

Boon Mee

[Jeepz]

Boon Me~

I hear what you are saying about the US interventions in European affairs. And I pretty much agree with you. Now, I will own that we had a bit of our own self interest occuring there too. Maybe not so much in the first world war, but certainly in the second one. We had been attacked by Japan, but we viewed Germany as the bigger threat. Luckily, Hitler, stunning tactician that he was, gave us the solution by declaring war on us due to his alliance with Japan. Roosevelt was at a bit of hard place trying to figure out how to take the war to Germany when they hadn't actually done anything we could declare one over.

Europe's sad state of affairs during the Balkans fiasco speaks for itself. They may not think so, but even they know better.

BWP, who up to this point has expressed himself quite well, even if I didn't agree with all of his points particularly, seems to be slipping down the slope too. And to his assertion that be conquered by Germany would be preferable to being beholden to the USA, what can I say. Perhaps he truly believes that. His forebearers that were there at the time did not.

If we were to pick one politician for all of the twentieth century, my choice wouldn't be an American. Hitler raised more ######, Stalin killed more people, but Winston Churchill faced both of them and never blinked. And he was just pleased as punch to have the Americans on his side.

Now the cold war with the Soviet Union, that's a hard one. Few of us know just what a miserable existance life in a fascist socialist state is like. I know a couple of people that grew up in those circumstances. They were ###### glad to get out it too. We had to go toe to toe with Ruskies (and their various minions) in a dark game of parry and thrust with few rules and much at stake. We still bear the scars and BWP isn't particularly mindful of it. Fifty years of bearing the brunt of defense against the communists isn't set down easily.

And to be honest Boon Me, like charity and so forth, who do you know that likes to be perpetually beholding to anyone? I don't suppose that we should be surprised if the Europeans would just as well forget about it. And I guess that we will learn not to press the issue at some point.

The Sept 11 attack by itself does not signify compared to World War I and II. But it is a tragedy and it was the precursor of more events if the terrorist have their way. They hate the USA, but they also hate western civilization. Not to deal with them is to leave not just the USA but any western culture to the whim of religious madmen. And no one destroys with greater enthusiasm than a zealot.

Jeepz

[Boon Mee]

Boon Me~

Europe's sad state of affairs during the Balkans fiasco speaks for itself.  They may not think so, but even they know better. 

Jeepz

Jeepz

I might have been a bit harsh/strident but it's been building up for some time now and like I say, I didn't post my diatribe to focus on the "working man"

In terms of being "beholdin', I wouldn't want it either...

[Jeepz]

Boon Me~

I understand that sense of frustration. Interestingly for me, it doesn't seem to wind me up as much as it used to. Oh, not that I don't shake my head when I see someone spouting gibberish enthusiastically. I don't like to see the USA bashed nor do I like to bash other countries (or rather their governments).

There are things I'm critical of in the US, things that I worry about under Bush's adminstration, but I worried about many of them under other president's administrations too.

And I get a tad bit critical of capitalism when I see the price of it. Not that I have diddley squat to offer as an alternative. But I watch kids with little supervision because both parents are working. Not much choice, try buying a house on forty or fifty thousand dollars a year income. Not going to happen. It takes both parents out their knocking down at least seventy grand before decent housing becomes available.

Schools keep dropping standards or making up weird yardsticks to gauge their success, activities are limited due to budget constraints. Music, arts, and god forbid, religion are becoming more rare. Well, the last one non-existant in terms of any public schools generally.

Not that every family follows the mold in lock step. I know some that chucked the cable tv, made their kids actually do homework, house work, and read a book. Both parents working, they sneak a few minutes away from the employer to call home and make sure everyone is where they are supposed to be. And that the door is locked, that the everyone ate. The mundane things that make the world go around and keep it safe.

Meanwhile the politicians stake their turf, make their rhetoric loud, promising this, deriding that, and seem to give with one hand and take with the other. They may offer a tax break here, but then they whack retirement or benefits or something over there. Heard what Greenspan said about Social Security lately?

And then watch your electricity provider steal a few million (or billion) with bogus trades, raise your rates because of them, and listen to a state regulator say they can't believe that those nice guys in the shiny big skyscraper would do anything illegal.

So, sure, I know what it is to get fed up. Still, not the worst place in the world, and like you said, the working guys everywhere are usually just trying to put food on the table, a roof over their head, and have a bit of free time to give momma and the kids a squeeze.

Jeepz (letting off a bit of his steam as well)

[bigwetpatch]

Boom mee & Jeepz

i was not sure whether to repost on this subject or not as I was fairly blunt last time out..

but i will. I start with a minor apology, not for oposing the theme being expressed, but for being overly aggressive in my opposition. Sometimes it is best to read, digest, think,post. Not... read, post, digest, think...if you know what i mean.

having said that I will try and respond with clarity. though the beers already imbibed may prevent such.

Don't y'all get your knickers in a twist now - I'm talking about the EU Government not to be confused with us working stiffs... 

Boon Mee

this was in response to my diatribe, which had beencaused by the following paragraphs.

Where I'm coming from w/regard to the EUnuchs has to do more with the attitude that prevails over there. First they get their asses burned when their idiot royalty have a go at each other and we (Americans) send our doughboys over to save themselves from themselves...OK, good, problem solved WW1 over, right? Wrong!

A little over two decades later they try fascism and nazism on for size, get their shrivelled nuts cought in the wringer and presto, off go our GIs to save their sorry asses again. Now, can we leave you home alone for a while without worrying about you setting the house on fire while we're gone?

Does this read like someone talking about the EU governments. It doesn't read like that to me. To me it reads thus.

"god ###### boy(spit), we had to cum ova thay and save y'alls sorry ass furm guttin wooped good(spit), ###### not once(spit) but too times (spit)"

The parochialisms aside, this is how you have come across to me.

You may believe that the 2 wars were long ago, and consequently you have free license to say as you will, in truth this is recent history and some of the wounds are still a little sore.

Try and think through your response were I too say similar derogatory statements about 9/11 or Vietnam or whatever conflict you care to mention that has affected your nation significantly in the recent past.

Regards,

BWP

[Boon Mee]

BWP

As I say, I might have been a tad strident in my post. The whole theme has been bugging me for some time and, perhaps, I might have gone "over the top" a bit...