With all of that said, here is why I believe Microsoft got a raw deal. Microsoft is being penalized for giving away the free use of its software. It would be like me being sued by Mozilla for creating a Linux distribution and only installing Konqueror (a web browser) and not FireFox. Microsoft sells its products and should be the one who decides what to include within the product.

A legitimate concern for investigation would be the likely fact that Micro$oft pressures hardware manufacturers to only include Winblows drivers on their software installation disks and not include Linux drivers. Another legitimate concern would be that Micro$oft more closely scrutinizes hardware vendors that offer dual boot systems (Winblows with non-Winblows) than they do vendors that only offer Winblows options. If Micro$oft offers deeper discounts to vendors who refuse to offer Linux-bootable products, there is another anti-trust issue that should be thoroughly investigated. Most government mandated software in the P.S.A. requires Micro$oft Winblows in order to be used. Forced consumption is yet another issue that should be investigated.

When the issue involves prices or forced use, unauthorized copies of Winblows is Micro$oft’s biggest competitor. Windows XP Pro costs 199.99 for the “upgrade”. That means in order to puchase XP Pro, a $7 per hour burger flipper or store clerk must work 28.57 hours to earn the required money. Acually, the amount of work required is much higher since this store clerk or berger flipper must also pay a higher percentage of income in taxes than the CEO of Microsoft.
I would rather pay a trusted cracker $35 for the same software. Most government mandated software in the P.S.A. requires Micro$oft Winblows in order to run (yet another issue that should be investigated).

When it comes to control and/or security, Linux or BSD is the most likely competitor. I love the fact that I can burn any CD or DVD and not have to deal with DRM issue or worry that my computer is infected with spyware. I control my computer – not some Korporate Kommissar. If I do not like they way a particular program runs or looks, I can rewrite the part that offends me (or I can hire a programmer to do it for me). I also would like to mention that the price is right

As far as ease of use is concerned, many people I know of believe that MacOS is easier to use than Winblows. This one is hard for me to tell because i have not used Mac’s very much. However, I found that the Mac is the easiest to set up.

When the above issues are addressed, Micro$oft will be forced even harder to compete. Linux is a threat that Microsoft is now taking very seriously. At this moment, Micro$soft’s biggest competitors are
unauthorized Winblows OS CD’s, Linux, MacOS, and BSD. I believe that other operating systems would be more popular if it were not for the forced consumption of Micro$oft products. Any software that is required by government should also be required by law to run on Linux and BSD as well as Winblows. IF it is not, then the government agenct that requires the software is complicent in antitrust activities.

Microsoft does not get many raw deals, but this one sure is a raw deal. Programmers should be free to include any features or software that they want into their product. I believe in fair competition, even when that competition included Micro$oft.

Both Real and Windows Media are loaded with DRM and spyware. I would rather both companies drop this nonsense and simply admit the QuickTime (including iTunes and ITMS) has beat them in the marketplace. Three competing standards is hurting the consumer.