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Still On Their Backs (6/14/98)
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UCLA undergrads aren't the only ones who notice that you can't buy a PC without Windows. Consumer watchdog Ralph Nader, who's long been a critic of Microsoft's anticompetitive practices, recently sent a letter to the Department of Justice requesting that they prevent the Redmond giant from requiring their Windows licensees from shipping Windows on every system they sell, whether the customer wants it or not. Read more about it in an Associated Press article.
Curiously enough, Microsoft calls Nader's demands "misguided," claiming that their contracts with computer manufacturers in no way prevent those companies from installing whatever they like on their machines. Of course, if that's the case, it doesn't explain why representatives from six of twelve PC manufacturers recently stated that they could not sell any machines without Windows preloaded because of their contracts with Microsoft. Presumably the matter is easily resolved by examining the terms of those contracts, though if PC manufacturers are allowed to ship systems without Windows, one wonders why they think they aren't. Perhaps they have been "strongly discouraged" in some other way?
Anyway, Ralph's letter isn't really meant to spur any more action against Microsoft, but rather to give the government something else to consider if any further suits are planned in the future, or to use as ammo during possible settlement negotiations. We'll see if it comes into play during the coming months.
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SceneLink (773)
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And Now For A Word From Our Sponsors |
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 | | The above scene was taken from the 6/14/98 episode: June 14, 1998: Rockin' Ralph Nader just won't let up on Microsoft; now he wants the government to get them to stop forcing PC manufacturers to preinstall Windows on every machine they ship. Meanwhile, Word 98 anomalies continue to surface, and Intel's new processor carries a price tag worthy of the Apple of old...
Other scenes from that episode: 774: Voices Carry (6/14/98) The more we learn about Word 98, the more we're glad we still use Nisus Writer instead. First, there was that fun little bug that could potentially trash your System Folder when you tried to uninstall the application... 775: Pricey Pentium II's (6/14/98) Intel's got some new processors coming out soon, but don't expect them to show up in systems that compete directly with Apple's PowerMacs. The new "Xeon" class Pentium II's cost a pricy $1124 each when purchased in volume-- and that's just the low-end model, which is 400 MHz with 512 KB of cache...
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