All Things Microsoft > Microsoft as a Company

The Punishment Due

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worker201:
I was thinking -- Even tho Microsoft sucks, they have a right to do what they want, sorta.  If they want to make shitty operating systems, they can.  If they want to fully integrate the browser into the operating system, that may be ok too.  What they cannot do is corner the market with money and propaganda.

So how do we punish them?

You can't just dissolve the company, you can't assassinate Bill Gates, and you can't separate IE from Windows.  What can you do?

What would you do?  If you were the DOJ or the president or __________ (insert deity here), what actions would you take?

My suggestions:
1. force MS to release full documentation of its office formats (doc, xls, ppt), to remove the proprietary stranglehold on the office market.  This is not the same as giving up the source for Word and Excel, just allowing other software to fully support MS formats.
2. prevent Microsoft products from being mentioned in television, radio or print advertisements.  This applies across the board, whether its MSN, server solutions, Dell promotions, or even mentioning the Windows version of Flash MX. I guess that software resellers would be exempt from this, but who knows?

Open call for additional solutions, comments, criticisms.

Laukev7:

quote: 2. prevent Microsoft products from being mentioned in television, radio or print advertisements.  This applies across the board, whether its MSN, server solutions, Dell promotions, or even mentioning the Windows version of Flash MX. I guess that software resellers would be exempt from this, but who knows?
--- End quote ---


That would go against freedom of speech, and would be useless, since people use Microsoft products because they don't see other choices, not because of advertisement. Some people use their computers for years without even knowing what Windows is (at one time I didn't even know what Microsoft was!). A more logical solution would be to force them to pay their competitors' advertising, so that more people become aware of other available choices.

worker201:
Laws against child porn kinda infringe on free speech, too, but that's not the point here.  One possible reason people dont consider other options is that they dont know about them because they dont hear about them.  Yet Microsoft has an MSN or "Where do you want to go today?" commercial on nearly every single day.  People probably think that Dell and Gateway are the only computer makers too.  And may mistakenly believe that Ruffles and Doritos are competing brands.  Advertising is pretty powerful, and other companies besides Dell, Apple, Gateway and MS ought to take advantage of it.  Anyway, it was just an idea.

insomnia:
Making stock exchange ilegal.  ;)

cahult:
Why not forbid anyone to do anything and then go from there?  :D

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