Microsoft Windows is Liked by Censors

published

--Schestowitz 22:59, 19 January 2011 (UTC)

Summary:

 PPEOPLE may often wonder, what is it that proprietary software actually does to limit people's freedom, by design?



 Microsoft's much-maligned operating system Vista has proven the third most effective PC tool available to parents to filter out inappropriate web content for children, according to tests by the European Commission.

But none of the 26 products tested by the EC achieved a perfect score [pdf] when it came to filter capabilities.

-TRIdentica/#techrights-[glynmoody/@glynmoody] EC Tests Show Windows Vista Is Above Average — At Blocking Content - http://bit.ly/g5axWJ #MS #Vista finds its niche at last: #censorship

The reality behind Vista 7 suggests that it's just like Vista under the hood, in which case the above applies to it too



Vista 7 is not doing it for Microsoft because Windows profits continue to decline (LINK)

very strongly-worded and critical piece from Nick Farrell in the British press

 It seems that all Microsoft's chickens have come to roost and have now tucked up their heads under their wings and are dreaming of wriggly grubs.

After years of being the bad-guy in many of the IT industry deals, the Imperium is reaching the point where the great unwashed will only buy its operating system, somewhat grudgingly.

For the last few years Microsoft has been entirely on the back foot and yet still regarded with suspicion. Its own attempts to enter the mobile industry have been treated with much mirth, somewhat unfairly. If any other company had produced it everyone would be praising it to the skies, and yet for some reason it is failing to move.

All those years of evil court cases, anti-trust actions, buying rivals out generally being the corporate Mr Evil have undermined its image to the point that people expect it do something nasty.

Lately however the sum total of the Imperium's legal efforts have been defensive against other companies who are playing the patent wars against it.

http://techrights.org/2011/01/19/steve-ballmer-needs-to-leave/z

Apple's Steve is out (LINK)



 So here we are in the second week of January, and it's already looking like 2011 could be a repeat of 2010 for Microsoft. A confused, belated, and underwhelming mobile strategy? Check. More top-level defections? Check. Languid stock price? Check.

At some point, it all comes back to Ballmer, the CEO. The question now is how long Microsoft's institutional shareholders, and its board (which cut Ballmer's bonus in half last year following the KIN debacle) will let this go on.

cartoon about them generally being disliked



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