The BC Supreme Court dismissed the plaintiffs’ claims that M$ overcharged them by finding that the plaintiffs did not buy from M$ and so had no standing to sue M$.
So there you have it. The criminal is too large to sue and his partners in organized crime, the OEMs and retailers are just stooges. Someone will have to lean on the retailers because the OEMs mostly do not operate in Canada.
“… were it to be otherwise, in the absence of the passing-on defence, a defendant would be liable for both the whole of the charge passed on (liability to the direct purchasers) and for all or any portion of the charge passed on (liability to the indirect purchasers) … [that] would result in double recovery … which our law does not permit.”
Duh… It’s not “double recovery”. The conspirators conspired to set up their criminal organization that way. Make them pay for it. That’s a judgment to be made in penalty phase, what portion of the overcharging was due to M$. Pathetic… criminals protected by the legal system.
When consumers complain they are told the competition does not protect them but businesses in competition. When businesses sue, they are kicked out because they did not buy direct from M$.
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14332 
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198 
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True genius.
Under a free market system everything is negotiable. If you do not want to purchase a computer with Windows pre-installed, then don’t. Ask the vendor to sell you a machine with no OS installed. If they refuse to do business with you, choose one of their competitors. Microsoft Windows is a component. If you don’t want to pay for that particular component, then don’t. Don’t make the purchase, only to later cry about it claiming that someone else should have changed the terms of the deal on your behalf. Man up, it’s your responsibility.
Linux, as a desktop operating system, is an outcast. A majority of people don’t know what it is, don’t understand how to use it, don’t have a use for it, or just plain don’t want it. Selling a component that makes another product useful? That’s something people DO want.
“The conspirators conspired to set up their criminal organization that way.”
*sigh*
Yonah wrote:Under a free market system everything is negotiable. If you do not want to purchase a computer with Windows pre-installed, then don’t
M$ has pressured large parts of the world to follow a monopoly market where the only thing negotiable is the price of that other OS. Most vendors do not offer choice in OS.
Yonah wrote:Linux, as a desktop operating system, is an outcast. A majority of people don’t know what it is, don’t understand how to use it, don’t have a use for it, or just plain don’t want it. Selling a component that makes another product useful? That’s something people DO want.
People don’t want a monopoly but unless they are geeks (less than 10%) they don’t know how to find choice in the market. Linux is widely accepted where offered, on the web, Malaysia, China, Russia, India and Brazil. On non-desktops Android/Linux is accepted globally. People do want it. The difference? M$ has no play in netbooks, tablets and smart phones. After this year, people by the hundreds of millions will have held Linux in their hands and will want it on desktops too.
“M$ has pressured large parts of the world to follow a monopoly market where the only thing negotiable is the price of that other OS. Most vendors do not offer choice in OS.”
And most people dont care because they are bust running APPLICATIONS. The OPerating system is that bit of color that they see in the background as they launch and use whartever.
“M$ has no play in netbooks, tablets and smart phones. After this year, people by the hundreds of millions will have held Linux in their hands and will want it on desktops too.”
Anything is possible Pog, but the simple fact is the commercial OS called Android is no more like Linux than OS X is like NexStep because both shared the Mach Kernel.
People have embraced smartphones, but only because of what they do, and only as appliances. If the people in question are using a desktop at all, they will be running windows and syncing up just like they do now. I can guarantee you that NOBODY is going to make the leap to the linux desktop from an Android based smartphone, and you are kidding yourself if you think so.
At most, android has cannibalized the potential customer who really didn’t need or want anything more than a media consumption appliance.
Thanks for the news and good summary, Mr. Pogson. I’m sorry that Microsoft has managed to make themselves above the law in BC and that the courts have let everyone down in favor of an obviously abusive, foreign monopoly.
Once upon a time Dell, Asus and HP amongst others offered Linux on netbooks. Dell even offered Linux on more powerful consumer laptops and PCs. They all sold quite well. Dell claimed it’s Ubuntu netbook returns were no greater than it’s Windows offering.
Then for no reason any of these big names is willing to tell in public the Linux offerings dried up. They were just pulled from the shelf. No warning and no reason given.
Now do people want Linux? Do they have a use for Linux specifically? No. People don’t care what OS is on their PC or netbook or tablet or phone. All they want is something that works, is easy to learn and does what it says on the tin. And Linux fits that description. Which is why Android phones are out selling the iPhone, Blackberry and Windows Phone 7.
It’s why Intel continues to support MeeGo and has made sure it will survive the Microsoft take over of Nokia. It’s also why HP has decided to offer WebOS on virtually every consumer device they’re selling. From PCs to phones to printers. They’ll all come with WebOS pre-installed unless Microsoft has a way to stop it.
Linux users want to buy hardware from the big names because it’s a safer way to buy hardware. Big names can back up their warranties in a way the little guy can’t.