FTC Ratchets Up Microsoft Probe, Queries Rivals on Cloud, AI (bloomberg.com) 19
The US Federal Trade Commission is accelerating scrutiny of Microsoft as part of an ongoing probe into whether the company illegally monopolizes large swaths of the enterprise computing market with its cloud software and AI offerings, including Copilot. From a report: The agency has issued civil investigative demands in recent weeks to companies that compete with Microsoft in the business software and cloud computing markets, according to people familiar with the matter. The demands feature an array of questions on Microsoft's licensing and other business practices, according to the people, who were granted anonymity to discuss a confidential investigation.
With the demands, which are effectively like civil subpoenas, the FTC is seeking evidence that Microsoft makes it harder for customers to use Windows, Office and other products on rival cloud services. The agency is also requesting information on Microsoft's bundling of artificial intelligence, security and identity software into other products, including Windows and Office, some of the people said.
With the demands, which are effectively like civil subpoenas, the FTC is seeking evidence that Microsoft makes it harder for customers to use Windows, Office and other products on rival cloud services. The agency is also requesting information on Microsoft's bundling of artificial intelligence, security and identity software into other products, including Windows and Office, some of the people said.
Learning a lesson (Score:3)
Microsoft learned that a tyrant is never appeased. https://www.cnbc.com/2025/01/0... [cnbc.com]
Worse than that (Score:4)
Respond to a fascist with a fist or you will be owned by them. Your choice.
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Except that the first antitrust lawsuit against Microsoft was filed in 2000, during the Clinton-Gore administration. Despite that, Microsoft has been among the wokest companies
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Like any other type of extortionist, they just want more and more. They are not honest people. No even honest criminals.
Nadella run out of cash? (Score:3)
Seems like some cash, or a gold bar in the shape of the Msft logo, delivered in some sycophantic ceremony in the Oval Office should help here. All the cool CEOs are doing similar now.
Re: Nadella run out of cash? (Score:4, Insightful)
More like the ballroom is running over budget and my arch isn't going to build itself.
Government as a subscription (Score:2)
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How is it a monopoly this time? (Score:4, Insightful)
Unlike in 2000, when Microsoft had done a lot of things to sabotage Netscape, OS/2, Borland and others, this time, they're on an even footing. I'm no fan of MS, especially now, but how is the market situation even close to being a monopoly?
On the Cloud front, there is AWS and Azure as the top 2, but there are others as well - Google, Oracle,... Anyone who doesn't want Microsoft can go to any of these 4, or myriad others. Also, the entry barriers to starting a Cloud service are not that high
On the AI front, CoPilot is not even #1. There is ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, Grok, AskPerplexity and a whole host of others. And many are just better
Unlike in 2000, Microsoft is no longer in a position where they can extend, embrace and extinguish their competition
Re: How is it a monopoly this time? (Score:2)
It is a little weird that the FTC is going after the SECOND biggest cloud operator as if they were a monopoly.
Amazon is almost 50% bigger.
Re: How is it a monopoly this time? (Score:4, Insightful)
Bezos is buddies with cheeto and Gates funds "woke liberal" ventures like vaccines and clean water. No surprise there.
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That's a valid licensing template. You or I may not like it, but it's how a lot of software vendors have historically licensed a lot of software. They are not FOSS software, but they never claimed to be. Nobody says that only FOSS software should be allowed to exist in the market
I'm glad that PC-DOS works for you, and OS/2 too. For my next computer, I plan to have OS/2 or ArcaOS, as well as FreeDOS, KolibriOS as some of my VMs
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I hear you, but unlike in the late 90s, when their making Internet Explorer an irremovable part of Windows successfully sabotaged Netscape (particularly b'cos after version 4, Netscape stopped being greatly superior to IE), nobody is going to CoPilot b'cos Office 365 Microsoft 365 CoPilot 365 wants them to do it. People are using Word, Excel, Notepad.... exactly the way they used to, and in fact unhappy about CoPilot being in their face. And not b'cos they want to use ChatGPT or Gemini instead
Right now,
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Microsoft offers secure cloud computing compliant with certain government standards for handling Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI). Which requires data to be held within CONUS and only administered by US Citizens.
Do other cloud providers have equivalent offerings? Is that more the monopoly position? Because we kind of already know who the corporate desktop OS is chained to.
Oracle (Score:3)
Much like the Maroun family, the family that owns the ambassador bridge to Cananda from Detroit, has spent over 50 million dollars opposing the joint-build Gordie Howe bridge next door. And recently visited trump. And 2 days later, he suggested he was going to shut the Gordie Howe bridge.
The asshole (Trump) is completely transactional and the single most corrupt president in history. He won't do shit unless he's getting paid off.
But he did keep a nice piece of ass on the side during his first Admin... so there is that.