Microsoft Sued by Netsc..er…Real

So, yea, Microsoft is being sued again for unfair competition, and the claims in the suit seem amazingly similar to those brought by Netscape several years earlier. The Register, which is admittedly anti-Microsoft, has an article describing some of the complaints. The two that stand out for me are:

1. discriminatory disclosure and withholding of information needed to interoperate with Microsoft’s operating systems
2. PC makers have informed RealNetworks that their agreements with Microsoft have precluded them from, amongst other things, “removing or changing the status of Windows Media Player”

Now, The Register isn’t really citing it’s sources very well, so this could all be bunk, but just roll with me on this for a minute.

First of all, I couldn’t agree more with some other people’s assessment of Real Player. I hate it and refuse to install it on any machine I own. Our illustrious emperor Bush should refocus his energies away from his blog (?!?!) and take some time to add Real Player to the Axis of Evil list. I mean, I really hate it that much.

So, that being said, if Microsoft is found to be culpable for these actions, and based on historical precedent I see no reason to discount them outright, then how freakin’ stupid can you get? I mean, come on! Your product is superior, and the market is going to choose yours over the competition anyway simply because it’s superior, so why do you need to leverage your monopoly position to gain market share? Even if nobody else cares, your competition will notice and file suit because they have the same legal rights as everybody else. Dumb, dumb, dumb.

I am going to refrain from commenting much further until the courts figure this all out. The real question is whether or not this blog will still be around in 2063.

Two final things.

1) For the record, while Windows Media Player is far superior to Real Player, it isn’t the best out there. That honor belongs to WinAMP 2.91. Unlike all the other popular players, it neither takes over your computer nor bloats down with trash you don’t need. It just works. Period.

2) You did read that right. Dubya has a blog. I am … apalled … and saddend that he doesn’t actually post himself. Could you imagine his entries? “So we found Saddam today in a spiderhole. Too bad there were no chemical weapons down there. :-(“ I really think somebody needs to make a parody site and spoof some live blog entries.