Thread: M$ phone suit

  1. #1
    Redundantly Redundant RoD's Avatar
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    M$ phone suit

    Microsoft Sued for Stealing Phone Secrets

    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    By Lucas van Grinsven

    AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - British mobile phone maker Sendo said on Monday it had filed a suit in a U.S. federal court against its former partner Microsoft, accusing it of stealing its technology and customers.

    The small British cellphone maker was Microsoft's key partner in entering the 400 million unit a year mobile phone market until the two companies unexpectedly cut ties last month without disclosing all the reasons why they fell out.

    The court filings allege that Microsoft, in search of new growth markets but lacking mobile phone expertise, extracted crucial information about the industry from Sendo and passed it on to friendly low-cost contract manufacturers in Asia.

    Privately owned Sendo may claim several hundred million dollars in damages, according to people familiar with the court proceedings.

    "Microsoft's secret plan was to plunder the small company of its proprietary information, technical expertise, market knowledge, customers and prospective customers," the filing said. "Microsoft gained Sendo's trust and confidence through false promises that Sendo would be its 'go-to-market-partner'."

    Microsoft executives in Europe declined to comment. But they told Reuters several weeks ago, when rumors emerged about a conflict between the two firms over misuse of Sendo proprietary information, that such allegations were without merit. Microsoft is a minority shareholder in Sendo.

    The complaint, filed at the eastern district court in Texarkana, Texas, which has a reputation for speedy processing of cases, also alleges that Microsoft sidelined Sendo after obtaining the information that it needed.

    "Microsoft used Sendo's knowledge and expertise to its benefit to gain direct entry into the burgeoning next-generation mobile phone market and then, after driving Sendo to the brink of bankruptcy, cut it out of the picture," the filings said.

    Sendo in November canceled all cooperation with Microsoft when it was just weeks away from launching its z100 smartphone, running on Microsoft software. As a result, the launch was scrapped.

    At the time Sendo declined to give all the reasons for the split, saying only it had not been given access to so-called 'source code' which would allow it to tailor the software.

    The lawsuit could affect Microsoft's relationships with other small technology companies. It also comes at an awkward time for the Redmond, Washington-based software giant as it is conducting make-or-break negotiations with Europe's antitrust regulators about alleged abuse of its market dominance.

    After breaking with Microsoft, Sendo went on to sign a contract with Symbian of Britain and Nokia of Finland, forgoing a potential 300 million-euro revenue stream from its Microsoft-based phone. It had already signed supply deals with many mobile telecom carriers around the world.

    Sendo, already looking for fresh funding over the summer months, needs at least another 12 months to develop a new smartphone. Such phones give users access to data services like email, a personal organizer, messages and games.

    The relationship between Sendo and Microsoft was always rocky, sources close to the companies said.

    Several sources told Reuters last month that Sendo management believed certain special features it had put in its phone over and above Microsoft's usual standard operating system had emerged in other smartphones Microsoft was involved in.

    In the filings, Sendo said that "Microsoft provided Sendo's proprietary hardware expertise and trade secrets to low-cost original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) who would not otherwise have had the expertise to manufacture handsets that would use (Microsoft software) and used Sendo's carrier-customer relationships to establish its own contractual relationships."

    Among rival phones that also use Microsoft software is the Orange SPV, produced by Taiwan's High Tech Computer (HTC) for French-owned mobile telecom service provider Orange.

    That phone, the world's first smartphone using a slimmed-down version of Microsoft Windows desktop PC software, was launched two weeks before Sendo decided to stop working with Microsoft.

    (Additional reporting by Lisa Bose McDermott in Texarakana, Texas)

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    It's MS not M$,MS MS MS MS MS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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    Redundantly Redundant RoD's Avatar
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    actually both are acceptable.

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    I just get sick of people actually blaming microsoft of being rich!
    That's ridicelous!!!!

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    Redundantly Redundant RoD's Avatar
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    i'm not blaming them, i just think its funny.

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    It was funny.....the first 1000 times!

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    Just a Member ammar's Avatar
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    Originally posted by Travis Dane
    I just get sick of people actually blaming microsoft of being rich!
    That's ridicelous!!!!
    I agree, I think Microsoft is among the best Software companies in the world, if it isn't the best...
    Many things we have today, is because of Microsoft.
    none...

  8. #8
    Registered User foniks munkee's Avatar
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    And I am sure that many things we could have had, but don't, are because of MS. Competition is good for business - we don't need some monopolistic private enterprise dictating to us what is "acceptable" and what is not.

    They crush their competition and they are not particularly fair about it, and thus we are none the wiser.
    "Queen and huntress, chaste and fair,
    Now the sun is laid to sleep,
    Seated in thy silver chair,
    State in wonted manner keep."

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    Much older and wiser Fountain's Avatar
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    Originally posted by foniks munkee
    And I am sure that many things we could have had, but don't, are because of MS. Competition is good for business - we don't need some monopolistic private enterprise dictating to us what is "acceptable" and what is not.

    They crush their competition and they are not particularly fair about it, and thus we are none the wiser.

    Things we could have had? Like what?

    They may crush competition, but only because they are too soft..

    You go make a product that is unique or better than M/S stuff, and I BET you will make a killing. M/S were ahead of the game at the right time. Simple as that.
    Such is life.

  10. #10
    Registered User foniks munkee's Avatar
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    Look - I have nothing against microsoft really, I use their windows products all the time, I just don't like their business practices. They deserve a lot of the bad press they get in some respects.

    But to think they got to a position of dominance because of good software is a little naive.
    They may crush competition, but only because they are too soft..
    Crap. They crush competition because they have more money, more lawyers and are in some cases are willing to break the law. What chance does a start-up have against the giant wallets and the lack of ethics that is MS?
    Things we could have had? Like what?
    It is common knowledge that MS buy out companies and technology where they can, either so they can incorporate it - or so that they can prevent it from being released depending on what suits their needs. But this isn't a practice that is exclusively MS.

    The thing is MS aren't THAT tallented - they are just run by some VERY good/ruthless business people.
    "Queen and huntress, chaste and fair,
    Now the sun is laid to sleep,
    Seated in thy silver chair,
    State in wonted manner keep."

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    This just shows how un-innovative Microsoft is. They don't innovate in this industry.....they either jump on a bandwagon or buy out a company that has good products and put their names on it. I seriously can't think of anything that M$ has innovated recently.
    Wandering aimlessly through C.....

    http://dbrink.phpwebhosting.com

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    Redundantly Redundant RoD's Avatar
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    Originally posted by Fountain
    M/S were ahead of the game at the right time. Simple as that.
    No they weren't, they simply stole an idea from someone who was and got it out first. IE xerox and the GUI o/s. Windows is a rush job. This is why its more susceptable to virus's and such, they aren't ahead, they make it look like they are by targeting idiots. I use them for the EASE, not for what it is. I'd take *nix over windows for 90% of things in a heart beat.

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    The thing is MS aren't THAT tallented - they are just run by some VERY good/ruthless business people.
    Their bussiness people, that is their talent.

    they either jump on a bandwagon or buy out a company that has good products and put their names on it.
    That is what most companies would do. It is just one of those elements which makes a company more succesfull than another. If a company wants to survive it has to have a very good or very much used product or a very wide range of products. Microsoft has a very much used product and it tries to have a very wide range of products. Their bussiness is quite aggressive, but they are succesfull with it. I'm not a manager, but I have to deal a lot of managers and commercial people. Their goal is not to make something very good, but to let a company survive, that is their work.

    Anyway, I don't care much about them. If I don't want to use Microsoft software, then there are a lot of freeware or open source alternatives.

  14. #14
    Registered User foniks munkee's Avatar
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    Anyway, I don't care much about them. If I don't want to use Microsoft software, then there are a lot of freeware or open source alternatives.
    Yeah - good call. I think I shall bow out of this argument now since I actually own a shedload of MS software. Seems a little hypocritical.
    "Queen and huntress, chaste and fair,
    Now the sun is laid to sleep,
    Seated in thy silver chair,
    State in wonted manner keep."

  15. #15
    Redundantly Redundant RoD's Avatar
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    Originally posted by foniks munkee
    Yeah - good call. I think I shall bow out of this argument now since I actually own a shedload of MS software. Seems a little hypocritical.
    I do also, i find myslef in constant use of m$ products. Not because i find them superior, but because they are so readily available.

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