Apple never did anything as nefarious as the Windows monopoly.
Let's remind everybody the worst thing (not the only thing) that Microsoft did:
They required all PC manufacturers to pay for a Windows license for every PC they sold, regardless of whether Windows was installed or not. This was at a time when IBM offered a competing (and by the way, superior) OS. This killed all competition in the market for PC-compatible OSes. Microsoft was able to do this for years, enforcing a monopoly that made them gazillions of dollars. (And perhaps worse, severely suppressed technological growth in the PC industry for at least 20 years.) Microsoft has never paid for this crime. Yes, it is a crime and they got convicted for it but they did not really get punished. There was certainly no disgorgement of the profits they amassed from this illegal monopoly.
Bill Gates should look in a mirror. In its heyday, Microsoft ran roughshod over those who tried to push alternatives to Office.
...And alternatives to Windows. Between Be, Inc.’s repeated “pivots” and Microsoft’s illegally monopolistic practices, BeOS was defeated.
Yes, Bill Gates knows full well that tech companies should face tough questioning... because he ruled the industry like a sociopath and he’s a dogdamned hypocrite. Now he’s trying to write his legacy into future textbooks, by carefully shaping an insincere image of philanthropy while [still] making money promoting not-the-right-ideas that perpetuate corporatism, and supporting his wealthy buddies while continuing to manipulate society.
Mr Gates should stop looking at the world through rose tinted glasses. He should reflect back to the time when the MS Mantra was
"The day isn't done until Lotus won't run".
And think how lucky he was to get away with it. Any company that came up against Microsoft were systematically destroyed by any means at their disposal. Not much has changed there then. Still making companies ship their PC's with Windows 10 installed is a good example of their blatant anti-competetive behaviour.
None of the major tech companies are 100% clean they all have dirty linen in their closets.
People don’t seem to recognise how poverty happens, it’s the result of exploitation.
That’s one reason for poverty, but that’s not even the biggest reason. Many people nowadays blind themselves to the fact that all these ‘greedy rich people’ are also creating jobs for the people they’re exploiting. If you take that greedy pursuit away then the jobs will disappear, and those who are being exploited (along with everyone else) will then be worse off. Jobs don’t just appear in order to conform to ‘fairness’.
Everyone benefits from the greedy pursuits of those who make a lot to money. The ideal of socialism, however well meaning, will only ever be a short-lived dream.
That’s not meant as an excuse for the greed or the hilarious hypocrisy of Bill Gates. It’d be great if everyone could share and get along and not be greedy, but that is never ever going to happen in a large society no matter how much we want it.
The majority of employment is through small business. (80%+ job creators are small businesses not the “microsoft”s of the world.
A "small business" is a very loose term and classified differently depending on the industry but 99.7% of all businesses in the US are classified as a "small business". There are 28M "small business" and only 630K publicly traded companies. The "Microsoft of the World" compromises less than .3% of all the businesses but employs 1/3 of the workers.
Jobs was a wizard. But I wouldn’t even class Gates as an apprentice wizard. MS hasn’t produced a single world changing product the way Apple has.
Personally, I think that Windows and Office were world changing products.
Windows was possible only because of copying the already existing and very modern for the time being Apple’s OS. The idea for Office comes again from Apple. Microsoft just has implemented wat Apple was asking for. That’s the reason why the first Office was exclusively for Mac,
Jobs was a wizard. But I wouldn’t even class Gates as an apprentice wizard. MS hasn’t produced a single world changing product the way Apple has.
Personally, I think that Windows and Office were world changing products.
Windows was possible only because of copying the already existing and very modern for the time being Apple’s OS.
And Apple OS came from Xerox ideas.
The idea for Office comes again from Apple. Microsoft just has implemented wat Apple was asking for. That’s the reason why the first Office was exclusively for Mac,
From what I know, MS Office applications, for example, Word and Excel, copied WordPerfect / WordStar and Lotus 1-2-3 / Visicalc. I don't think that MS copied from Apple to do MS Office.
IMO, doesn't matter where MS Windows or MS Office came from. It's easy to see that both products that changed the world.
Bill wants to say Silicon Vallye behemoths need to be teared apart before they produce objectionable characters like himself. He’s just a little late wwith that
Jobs was a wizard. But I wouldn’t even class Gates as an apprentice wizard. MS hasn’t produced a single world changing product the way Apple has.
Personally, I think that Windows and Office were world changing products.
Windows was possible only because of copying the already existing and very modern for the time being Apple’s OS.
And Apple OS came from Xerox ideas.
The idea for Office comes again from Apple. Microsoft just has implemented wat Apple was asking for. That’s the reason why the first Office was exclusively for Mac,
From what I know, MS Office applications, for example, Word and Excel, copied WordPerfect / WordStar and Lotus 1-2-3 / Visicalc. I don't think that MS copied from Apple to do MS Office.
IMO, doesn't matter where MS Windows or MS Office came from. It's easy to see that both products that changed the world.
Sorry but I can’t respect Microsoft. Together with Intel they destroyed entirely the computer markt, pushing all existing computer companies with better computers and with better OS in bankrupt. And it was the same Bill Gates on top af Microsoft, who is giving now lessons to Apple.
Jobs was a wizard. But I wouldn’t even class Gates as an apprentice wizard. MS hasn’t produced a single world changing product the way Apple has.
Personally, I think that Windows and Office were world changing products.
Windows was possible only because of copying the already existing and very modern for the time being Apple’s OS.
And Apple OS came from Xerox ideas.
The idea for Office comes again from Apple. Microsoft just has implemented wat Apple was asking for. That’s the reason why the first Office was exclusively for Mac,
From what I know, MS Office applications, for example, Word and Excel, copied WordPerfect / WordStar and Lotus 1-2-3 / Visicalc. I don't think that MS copied from Apple to do MS Office.
IMO, doesn't matter where MS Windows or MS Office came from. It's easy to see that both products that changed the world.
Sorry but I can’t respect Microsoft. Together with Intel they destroyed entirely the computer markt, pushing all existing computer companies with better computers and with better OS in bankrupt. And it was the same Bill Gates on top af Microsoft, who is giving now lessons to Apple.
Your respect for MS has no relation to Windows and MS Office changing the world. I agree that MS did a lot of things wrong, and they have to blame themself for the government intervention. But it's obvious that Windows and MS Office change the world. IMO, BG has the right to talk to Apple about this, considering his past experiences.
The real problem is that tech companies are notoriously naive when it comes to dealing with the way “business” gets done in Washington and other temples of graft and pay-to-play centers of political influence.
For which Apple paid Xerox a license, unlike Microsoft who just cribbed Windows straight out of the Mac.
Nice try to paint your false equivalence narrative there but no cigar, buddy boy.
Looks like you agree with my comment, since Apple had to paid Xerox to use their GUI ideas. MS may have copied elements from Apple, but at the end, both copied from Xerox.
For which Apple paid Xerox a license, unlike Microsoft who just cribbed Windows straight out of the Mac.
Nice try to paint your false equivalence narrative there but no cigar, buddy boy.
Looks like you agree with my comment, since Apple had to paid Xerox to use their GUI ideas. MS may have copied elements from Apple, but at the end, both copied from Xerox.
That's some nice twisted logic but hey, whatever floats your boat.
Bill Gates said: "If you are as successful as I am, or any of those people you are, you deserve rude, unfair, tough questions," said Gates. "The government deserves to have shots at you. That type of grilling comes with the super successful territory, it's fine.
Gates is right, except maybe for theyou deserve rude, unfairpart. But tough? Hell yeah. Not like McCain asking Cook "Why the hell do I have to keep updating my apps?"
Gates is also right about Apple and others should expectrude, unfair, tough questions, because — well — most people asking these question on the hill just aren't all that bright and mostly ignorant about tech in general.
So regardless of how anybody feels about Gates then and now, he's still right. Without the tough questions, we can't expect transparency in all actions these companies take.
M$'s actions then or new don't excuse Apple from doing anything similar or different in a nefarious nature. Operating above board means being able to answer the tough questions and give the rude and unfair "investigators" a polite "Fuck You" for their stupidity.
Without competent oversight we can't expect transparency nor effect accountability. Competent is the operative word here. Competence is in short supply and much of these hearings are just a poorly orchestrated dog and pony show. This doesn't do anybody any good. But that's business as usual.
Comments
Let's remind everybody the worst thing (not the only thing) that Microsoft did:
They required all PC manufacturers to pay for a Windows license for every PC they sold, regardless of whether Windows was installed or not. This was at a time when IBM offered a competing (and by the way, superior) OS. This killed all competition in the market for PC-compatible OSes. Microsoft was able to do this for years, enforcing a monopoly that made them gazillions of dollars. (And perhaps worse, severely suppressed technological growth in the PC industry for at least 20 years.) Microsoft has never paid for this crime. Yes, it is a crime and they got convicted for it but they did not really get punished. There was certainly no disgorgement of the profits they amassed from this illegal monopoly.
Yes, Bill Gates knows full well that tech companies should face tough questioning... because he ruled the industry like a sociopath and he’s a dogdamned hypocrite. Now he’s trying to write his legacy into future textbooks, by carefully shaping an insincere image of philanthropy while [still] making money promoting not-the-right-ideas that perpetuate corporatism, and supporting his wealthy buddies while continuing to manipulate society.
https://www.factorfinders.com/small-business-job-creation-vs-big
https://www.sba.gov/sites/default/files/FAQ_Sept_2012.pdf
https://www.nysscpa.org/news/publications/the-trusted-professional/article/more-americans-work-at-big-firms-than-small-ones-040717 ;
What would be interesting to know is, how does the government as the employer, fits into all these numbers.
https://www.bizjournals.com/bizjournals/on-numbers/scott-thomas/2012/05/governments-employ-20-percent-of.html
The idea for Office comes again from Apple. Microsoft just has implemented wat Apple was asking for.
That’s the reason why the first Office was exclusively for Mac,
From what I know, MS Office applications, for example, Word and Excel, copied WordPerfect / WordStar and Lotus 1-2-3 / Visicalc. I don't think that MS copied from Apple to do MS Office.
IMO, doesn't matter where MS Windows or MS Office came from. It's easy to see that both products that changed the world.
He’s just a little late wwith that
Nice try to paint your false equivalence narrative there but no cigar, buddy boy.
i guess seeing bill’s face at the top of an article round these parts is so triggering, all rational abilities such as reading fly out the door.
kind of like insecure small children screaming at an insect that just landed on the window.
Gates is right, except maybe for the you deserve rude, unfair part. But tough? Hell yeah. Not like McCain asking Cook "Why the hell do I have to keep updating my apps?"
Gates is also right about Apple and others should expect rude, unfair, tough questions, because — well — most people asking these question on the hill just aren't all that bright and mostly ignorant about tech in general.
So regardless of how anybody feels about Gates then and now, he's still right. Without the tough questions, we can't expect transparency in all actions these companies take.
M$'s actions then or new don't excuse Apple from doing anything similar or different in a nefarious nature. Operating above board means being able to answer the tough questions and give the rude and unfair "investigators" a polite "Fuck You" for their stupidity.
Without competent oversight we can't expect transparency nor effect accountability. Competent is the operative word here. Competence is in short supply and much of these hearings are just a poorly orchestrated dog and pony show. This doesn't do anybody any good. But that's business as usual.