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Re: [TCLUG:1056] Another nifty TSR from the Caldera anittrust suit



> the bulletin, so I'll keep this short) about MS's anticompetitive sabotage
> job on DR-DOS, QEMM etc.  Nicely ties in with some of the stuff talked about

Sorry for the non-linux related message, I will keep it short. I don't
see this as being anticompetitive or sabotage, necessarily. Another way
of viewing the situation is that Microsoft has only certified their
windows software to "work" with their own DOS and IBM's PC DOS. They
have not spent the time and money to certify that it will "work" with
competing DOS products -- for obvious reasons, perhaps. Whether they
do this by explicitly checking for known versions of the approved software,
or for known versions of the "unapproved" DOS software is a fine
legal point that may or may not be relevant to the claims of
sabotage or anti-competiveness.

It is not unlike a vendor telling you, for example, that if you install
your own memory or hard disk in their server, you may void the warranty.
They have neither verified that the products you chose will be compatible,
nor do they want to repair whatever damage you do when you make the
install.

Edward A. Bertsch  (eab@msi.umn.edu)   Supercomputing Institute
http://www.msi.umn.edu/~eab            University of Minnesota
TEL +1 612-624-0540                    1200 South Washington Avenue
FAX +1 612-624-8861                    Minneapolis, MN 55415  USA