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Never Doubt Our Paranoia (6/6/03)
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As usual, we'd like to toss you headlong and screaming into the wilds of your weekend clinging to nothing but a machete, your wits, and a little food for thought. Remember yesterday when we made a throwaway reference to a conspiracy theory involving Microsoft's rumored imminent departure from the Mac platform and the company's recent acquisition of VirtualPC from Connectix? The gist was that Microsoft could essentially asphyxiate the Mac by first cancelling the native Mac versions of its monopoly-mandated business software, and then killing off the most popular means for Macs to run the Windows versions, too. Regardless of your personal opinions about the quality of Microsoft products, you'll probably agree that if Macs can't run Word or Excel, they're not going to have much of a shot in anything remotely resembling the average business environment.
Of course, we were mostly just kidding around-- or so we thought. We tempered our paranoid rantings with an acknowledgment that, even if VirtualPC gets Ballmered into oblivion, at least there are other Wintel emulators in the works. The ones we had in mind were RealPC and SoftWindows, originally by Insignia and now relaunched by FWB. The last we'd heard was that FWB was hard at work on Mac OS X ports and that we could expect to see them soon. But faithful viewer Kevin Hassani tipped us off to a MacNN Forums thread which shows just how deep the conspiracy runs.
It seems that FWB has encountered a mild setback in its plans to modernize and rerelease RealPC and SoftWindows (now called PowerWindows). No, not the flesh-eating space locusts (though those sure aren't helping), but rather a cease and desist letter. From whom, you ask? Why, from a little software outfit hailing from the sunny climes of Redmond, WA. It starts with a "Micro," ends in a "soft," and is run by a howling body-waxed baboon on crack. Three guesses who we're talking about. (No, not Regis.)
The cease and desist is real, folks-- it's confirmed on the PowerWindows page. So, hmmmm, let's see, here... Microsoft buys up one Wintel emulator for the Mac, uses legal maneuvers to attempt to halt the development and release of another, announces that it won't be developing Internet Explorer for our platform anymore, and allegedly considers bailing on the Mac altogether. See? There is something going on here!
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SceneLink (3999)
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And Now For A Word From Our Sponsors |
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 | | The above scene was taken from the 6/6/03 episode: June 6, 2003: Microsoft agrees to amend its California antitrust settlement proposal to include Apple's demands-- sort of. Meanwhile, indie label reps hear tell of a sweet deal at yesterday's Jobsian iTMS meeting in Cupertino, and not long after buying one Wintel emulator for the Mac, Microsoft tries to halt the development of another...
Other scenes from that episode: 3997: It's A Step Up, Anyway (6/6/03) Finally, Microsoft caves on something! You do, of course, recall the company's attempt to settle a raft of twenty-six California antitrust suits by generously offering to extend its monopoly power into the nation's schools at little to no actual cost to itself, right?... 3998: The Indies Are Coming (6/6/03) Hey, great news for independent music fans: not only was yesterday's invitation-only meeting of indie label reps at Apple's headquarters not a trap dreamt up by the majors to lure their up-and-coming competitors to a mayonnaisey grave, but it also revealed that Apple is stone cold serious about ensuring that the iTunes Music Store can offer its users a richer selection of tunage than just bland prefab stuff manufactured for maximum consumption...
Or view the entire episode as originally broadcast... | |  |
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