[LINK] Lenovo dumps Linux

[Rick Welykochy]

David Boxall wrote:

> Conspiracy theory, anyone?
> <http://www.theinquirer.net/gb/inquirer/news/2008/09/12/lenovo-dumps-linux>
> ...
>> A spokesman said business customers could still get the alternative OS 
>> on some machines but ordinary folk will get Windows or lump it.
> ...
>> Anyone watching the way the big outfits are squeezing open source 
>> offerings from their products could be forgiven for thinking 
>> something's afoot.

When "deals" as the one originally posted are dug up, of course we all
smell the same rat.

Something's been afoot for a while.

<http://www.pcauthority.com.au/News/75642,lenovo-dumps-google-for-microsoft-search.aspx>

   Lenovo dumps Google for Microsoft search
   Mar 15, 2007
   Search results: Google not found.

   Microsoft has agreed a deal with Lenovo to pre-install its Windows Live
   toolbar onto all the company's PCs and notebooks, according to Reuters.
   This deal between Redmond and the Chinese giant will supplant a similar
   deal that Lenovo had with Google.

and earlier:

<http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/press/2006/apr06/04-17LenovoPR.mspx>

   Lenovo and Microsoft Reaffirm Global Agreement
   Value-added software and education initiatives promote best PC user experience.

   REDMOND, Wash. — April 17, 2006 — Senior executives from Lenovo Group Ltd.
   and Microsoft Corp. met today to reaffirm their joint efforts for market
   development and to formally sign a global agreement that expands and deepens
   the strategic cooperation between the two companies.

Conspiracy? Nah, "free enterprise".

Microsoft has already been found guilty in many jurisdictions
of trade practice violations and intellectual property theft.

Is there anything wrong with Lenovo dumping Linux? Hell yes.
They are co-operating with a felonious corporation in pushing
out competition.

Google for "microsoft found guilty" and watch it unfold on your screen,
620,000 hits, (although some are about people found guilty of
stealing Microsoft's property)

2000 - Microsoft found guilty of antitrust violations
2000 - Judge's Conclusion: MS Guilty
2001 - Microsoft found guilty of software piracy
2002 - Microsoft convicted of software piracy in France
2005 - Microsoft found guilty of antitrust violation in South-Korea
2005 - Microsoft Found Guilty of Patent Infringement in Guatemala
2006 - Microsoft found guilty of having plagiarized Vista font
1925 - Evolution Teacher Found Guilty - Microsoft Windows ...

(last one is unrelated!)

The conspiracy, if there is one, is Microsoft's shonky business
practices. If you follow up on these cases, the fines are astronomical,
about $680,000.00 in the French case. But they can afford to pay.
It's just another means of capturing more market share. What a system.
No jail time. Just lots of money changing hands. And yet when you
or I break copyright, we can be sent to jail.

Recall the unfortunate Aussie resident Hew Raymond Griffiths who was
cooperatively extradicted by Howard's government to the USA to face trial
and a 51 months sentence. He's back in Aus now according to Wikipedia.
Why he couldn't face court here is beyond me. The AUSFTA was mentioned
in some articles I read. I could say something about a quaint isolated
American outpost at the end of the world, but I won't. I could rattle
on about the corporate justice system, but that would be overstaying
my welcome.

cheers
rickw


-- 
________________________________________________________________
Rick Welykochy || Praxis Services || Internet Driving Instructor

For every complex problem, there is a solution that is simple, neat, and wrong.
      -- H.L. Mencken