Comments on: Microsoft files antitrust complaint against Motorola

By: TheLight

TheLight — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 12:45:00 +0000

Oh, so the shoe is on the other foot now. It is OK for Microsoft and Apple to extort money from rivals by threatening lengthy and expensive litigation and they expect them to acquiesce without so much as a wimper but when someone does the same to them, they bring the wrath of government down on them.

By: NotRelevent

NotRelevent — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 22:48:00 +0000

Yea I’m with the guy below me. Never paid for a single MS dev tool. Nor have I ever paid for a single update. Ever. Apple on the other hand, charges both for updates and dev tools. Stop confusing the two.

By: NotRelevent

NotRelevent — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 22:47:00 +0000

Actually they technically do. They bought Moto for $12.5 billion last year and the purchase has cleared most if not all of the world regulatory hurdles. So they more or less do.

By: thereasoner

thereasoner — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 19:29:00 +0000

If MS thinks this is a bad thing then Moto must be doing something right.

By: First Name

First Name — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 18:21:00 +0000

I decided I wasn’t impressed with Google when I got a G1. I decided I didn’t like Google when they released Chrome. Google is no chocolate factory, Charlie.

By: First Name

First Name — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 18:19:00 +0000

Uhm… it costs absolutely nothing to be a “MS developer”. Visual Studio Express is free, no strings attached. If I had to pay for it I wouldn’t have it on every one of my Windows computers.

As for the “updates we were forced to buy”, what? No, really. I haven’t had to pay for a single service pack for any version of Windows. What are you talking about? Is this supposed to be sarcasm?

If you really hate Microsoft that much go ahead and install one of the 800 varieties of Linux.

By: Katana18

Katana18 — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 18:17:00 +0000

lol at the misinformed cheering Google and Motorola. DO you realise this is FRAND we are talking about and not “any” patent. Google are digging their own grave here and could face anti-trust, products pulled from shelf and kicked out of all open standards forums. Really showing their inexperiance here Google.

By: tastygroove

tastygroove — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 18:13:00 +0000

So… Google wanted MOTO to use as an axe to kill h.264 and push that webm shit? Things are getting interesting.

By: UgglyUI

UgglyUI — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 18:10:00 +0000

So MS happily charge android oems extortionate amounts, but don’t want to pay up for licences themselves? Stay classy M$.

By: UgglyUI

UgglyUI — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 18:10:00 +0000

So MS happily charge android oems extortionate amounts, but don’t want to pay up for licences themselves? Stay classy M$.

By: gmaninvan

gmaninvan — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 18:06:00 +0000

This is true. When Barnes and Noble made a ballsy move of making the patents MS was trying to assert public, it is absolutely ridiculous what they are. I really don’t respect Microsoft as a company. This is what they have always done. When they are not the dominant player in a segment, they use anticompetitive practices to snuff out their competition and then slow down innovation to a snails pace. As Corel about wordperfect, ask the linux foundation.

By: gmaninvan

gmaninvan — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 18:04:00 +0000

Add to the fact that google and motorola combined have a larger mobile patent portfolio than microsoft. I agree, he needs to do his homework. That posting is riddled with speculation.

By: Daniel Rose

Daniel Rose — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 17:33:00 +0000

Microsoft demands a ridiculous amount (10-15 €) for a bunch of patents they refuse to name. These are likely essential and/or bogus. For example. Microsoft has a patent on the trivial way in which FAT switches between long and short filenames. It is essentially a specification, not an invention and there’s no way around it because FAT is the official standard for SD cards. Microsoft and Apple have a lot of these patents that are riddled with prior art or are based on obvious things. These are not part of any FRAND agreement and they can abuse them fully. However, before Google bought Motorola Microsoft was more than willing to act in the same way as Motorola does now. They changed their minds because Motorolas patents are mostly FRAND. TL;DR: MS is a hypocrite.

By: plunder

plunder — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 17:13:00 +0000

Considering the way Microsoft has treated most Android device makers in recent months – may they loose big and rot in silicone hell. Take your friends from Cupertino with you.

By: plunder

plunder — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 17:13:00 +0000

Considering the way Microsoft has treated most Android device makers in recent months – may they loose big and rot in silicone hell. Take your friends from Cupertino with you.

By: Bert336

Bert336 — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 17:04:00 +0000

Good job Moto, +1 for you!

By: timbox100

timbox100 — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 16:19:00 +0000

You really must do your home work before you spout off

Some points
1 Google does not own Motorola, unless you think they are secretly pulling strings? If so proof?
2 h.264 licences are for generating video, play back is free and who probably uses it the most? Youtube.
3 Google’s own version is free to anyone.
4 There are no official details about how much MS charges from manufactures using Android. So how do you get $0.05? And do you think Barnes and Noble would be in court over MS asking for 0.05 cents. Current estimates put it at between $10-$15.

I could go on ripping your post apart but then it would look like yours and no one would read it.

By: bybyms

bybyms — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 15:24:00 +0000

We all remember who holds the rights to DOS. And how much does it cost to be a MS developer.

And most of all lets all count how many BS updates for windows we were forced to buy, with no options to switch to a system that did not crash on a regular basis.

Heres to new competion and the fall of MS monopoly!!!

By: mtcoder

mtcoder — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 15:20:00 +0000

eh but catch is google is using it’s motorola patents to kill off H.264 standard cause they want everyone to use their encoder instead. Google is using the patent to kill off a joint standard technology so everyone has to change to their standard. Which is case book antitrust. Google had the option to join in on the h.264 standard but chose to make their own, which is fine. But to then buy up a part of said standard and then try to undermine it so your technology becomes the new standard by breaking a FRAND agreement is pretty anti-trust. The tricky part that is starting to form though is FRANDs are facing more and more trouble in holding. If this keeps up heaven help the world. MS will dominate once again, as they own so many patents on so many random off the wall things, that they put out in FRAND style, that if MS is pushed to stop participating in FRAND agreements the world won’t function anymore. And no this isn’t a Fanboi post. It’s pretty plain and simple to see. For example MS claims .05 cents per android sold for a patent Google uses. Imagine MS going to court to block the sell of every android or charging Google 50 bucks per phone. While it would be a court pissing match that would drag on for years, MS would probably win overall, they do better lobbying than Google. If anything Google and Motorola are risking shooting self in the foot. They don’t have a lot of patents to play fire with even with the two of them put together, its a small patent portfolio when stacked up against MS. Ever since the antitrust days of MS, they have went all FRAND style on nearly all of their no essential patents. aka “We own them but give us a few cents on the dollar and we all cool”. Forcing the government to look at Google instead of MS with antitrust suits leaves MS out of the watchful eye, which is dangerous. Also with recent changes at Google. MS is starting to look like the “Do no Evil” company, trying to stay alive against, Greedy Apple, and more and more evil by the day Google. Once again a mistake Google can’t afford to make.

By: Woodbr30043

Woodbr30043 — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 14:59:00 +0000

I love how everyone has jumped on the anti Google bandwagon…

By: NotRelevent

NotRelevent — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 14:52:00 +0000

Microsoft you’re such an epic hypocrite. You were doing the same thing against Motorola, and when you lost and Moto retaliated you cry like a little bitch claiming unfair treatment. Ha that’s rich. I hope you lose MS.