Boycott of Microsoft and Other Brands

[Dr. Shim]

Now this is interesting. I would've never guessed this a few years back. Totally blows me away. In Germany and other places throughout Europe, they are beginning to boycott American (USA) products. One website asks for people to boycott twenty-something American brands, from Microsoft to Kodak.

A most interesting read:

http://www.commondreams.org/headlines03/0325-10.htm

[CMonster]

Boycotting Microsoft products is like boycotting gasoline -everybody knows that many byproducts of combustion are posionous, but not many are willing to give up the convienance of the gasoline powered automobile..... not to mention that alternatives are few and have some serious drawbacks.... well, at least we all know there was never any oil monopoly.. ..right?


As touching the current "call to boycott" as a result of the Iraq war:

* if 911 had never happened to the USA and instead it was Russia moving against Iraq then the US would also likely be upposed to the war and call for a boycott on Russian goods..... wait, err.. that is if they actually made anything...

[carrja99]

LOL! Well said CMonster. Indeed, boycotting Microsoft products is indeed like boycotting gasoline. I am sure, however, as these people consider themselves radicals and proclaim thier boycott of MS products, they are probably dual booting to windows and playing PC games.

By the way...

"This started as a light-hearted reaction to Americans dumping French wine in the gutter and renaming 'French Fries' as 'Freedom Fries'," he said. "But it feels good to take a stand against this war. It is just a small gesture, but a good one."

Freedom Fries? What are those?

[Okie]

boycotting M$FT has been going on for a while now, i myself have not bought any of M$FT's Kludgeware for a long time and i will continue to NOT buy any of M$FT's product for as long as i live...

M$FT= WAY over priced & WAY over rated...

[Dr. Shim]

Well, I'm not sure of the details, but since France appears to be against the war, the US government doesn't see them as an allie. So they decided to rename all French foods into "Freedome" foods. To me, this sounds almost like a three-year-old's game. Pretty dumb.

I thought I'd mention that it isn't just a few "radicals," it's entire chains of resturants that are refusing to sell American brand products. Waiters would tell people who are ordering, let's say, Coca-Cola, that it is unavailble due to political reasons.

What I thought was most interesting was that one resturant (maybe more) put up a sign saying something like, "Americans not welcome."

One could almost say that it was inevitable. *Shrugs*

[Zaren]

Bah!

Who cares, I hate those companies as much as if not more than the french and germans do, and I'm for the war, and I'm American! Boycot the hell out of starbucks and McDonalds, the world will be a better place without mochaccinos and fake beef being peddled at every street corner.

~Z

[carrja99]

Originally posted by Dr. Shim
Well, I'm not sure of the details, but since France appears to be against the war, the US government doesn't see them as an allie. So they decided to rename all French foods into "Freedome" foods. To me, this sounds almost like a three-year-old's game. Pretty dumb.

I thought I'd mention that it isn't just a few "radicals," it's entire chains of resturants that are refusing to sell American brand products. Waiters would tell people who are ordering, let's say, Coca-Cola, that it is unavailble due to political reasons.

What I thought was most interesting was that one resturant (maybe more) put up a sign saying something like, "Americans not welcome."

One could almost say that it was inevitable. *Shrugs*

No, it's just more lies and myths to add fuel to the fire of France's Anti-Americanism. I wen t to McDonalds yesterday to buy a meal, and I didn't see "freedom fries" on the menu, nor do I see any restaurants taking french wines off thier lists. It's just people being idiots and trying to commit themselves to a cause because it gives them a sense they are changing the world.

As for putting up a sign saying "Americans Not Welcome", wow, now THAT is a great idea! Let's show our discontent over a nation going to war by discriminating against anyone who is Amercian, regardless of thier opinion on the war! I think this is an AWFUL way to protest something and reminds me of similar signs that had said "Blacks Not Welcomed", "Jews Not Welcomed", etc.














:mad:

[Dr. Shim]

It's more of a protest to the US then it is hate. Many Europian countries have learned their lesson. Honestly, I don't see Germany become as racist as it has been in the past, again, for instance.

[drummerboy195]

i find it interesting that shortly after bush issued his 48 hour ultimatum to saddam, the french changed sides, saying they would help us, because they had valuable expertise in chemical warfare that we (america) should not be without. i also find it interesting that a very large french oil company purchases a large portion of its oil from iraq, despite the un sanctions they supported. so, it really is all about oil, isnt it? ;)

[frumanchu]

Originally posted by Dr. Shim
It's more of a protest to the US then it is hate. Many Europian countries have learned their lesson. Honestly, I don't see Germany become as racist as it has been in the past, again, for instance.

Learned their lesson? Did France learn anything from the 1930's when they and many other nations took Hitler at his word that he wouldn't go rolling through their country? Apparently not. At least the UK learned the lesson and is with us in getting rid of Hussein before he kills even more people.

I have mixed feelings on M$. On the one hand most of their products suck and their business practices are often less than ethical. On the other hand, that very fact does put food on my table as an IT guy. Crappy Microsoft products = job security for me (at least until I transition to something less concerned with that type of support).

Safe to say that, just two weeks into my Linux experience, I am very much convinced that open source is the future and that many hours will be spent going forward having to relearn EVERYTHING I thought I knew.

[Arcane_Disciple]

If you really don't like something that much, by all means, boycott it. As for changing the name, what does that get anyone in the end. Besides, from my understanding and the snippet below, French Fries weren't even a French Food.


'Do you want Belgian fries with that?" That's what you might be hearing at fast-food restaurants today if it hadn't been for World War I. The Belgians claim to have invented "French" fries, though no one knows for sure. The dish was first prepared as early as the 1700s and was simply called fried potatoes. Thomas Jefferson sampled them in Paris and brought the recipe home. At a White House dinner in 1802, the menu included "potatoes served in the French manner." But that's not how they got their name.

Their commercial success began in 1864, when Joseph Malines of London put "fish and chips" (French fries) on the menu. His success inspired others across Europe. But they weren't French fries until 1918 or so. American soldiers stationed in France gobbled up fried potatoes. They dubbed them "French fries" and liked them so much they wanted to have them at home, too. Americans still love French fries. Last year alone, more than 4.5 billion pounds of them were sold in the United States.


This was sent to me by a friend that was just miffed about the whole renaming thing. That ranks up there with Victory Cabbage (saurkraut).

[Whipping Boy]

Originally posted by frumanchu
and their business practices are often less than ethical.

How so? Last I checked, Microsoft wasn't hiring thugs to try and kill Larry Ellison...

[Zaren]

Originally posted by Whipping Boy
How so? Last I checked, Microsoft wasn't hiring thugs to try and kill Larry Ellison...

Erm, I think the fact that they were found guilty of abusing their position as a monopoly is some evidence of unethical business practices. The list is extensive, but I would have to search for links for evidence rather than rattling off from memory, and I'm FAR too lazy for that crap.

~Z

[Okie]

i have read on other sites that M$FT declared NT-4 broken and UN-fixable right about the time they release Windoze server 2003, sounds like social engineering for the purpose of coercing/forced upgrades to me with the only motive (as usual) for maximum profit, in a short space of time...

[Zaren]

Originally posted by Okie
i have read on other sites that M$FT declared NT-4 broken and UN-fixable right about the time they release Windoze server 2003, sounds like social engineering for the purpose of coercing/forced upgrades to me with the only motive (as usual) for maximum profit, in a short space of time...

Yeah, or something like that. Of course we can't PROVE that it was strategically done, but it looks quite suspect eh?


~Z

[Whipping Boy]

Originally posted by Zaren
Erm, I think the fact that they were found guilty of abusing their position as a monopoly is some evidence of unethical business practices. The list is extensive, but I would have to search for links for evidence rather than rattling off from memory, and I'm FAR too lazy for that crap.

~Z

Just because something's illegal doesn't mean it should be.

Just because something's illegal doesn't mean it's wrong.

There's nothing wrong with being able to run your business better than everyone else and trying to make as much money as possible (as long as you don't initiate the use of fraud or physical force in the process). It's only illegal because some incompetent people got jealous of their betters.

[Whipping Boy]

Originally posted by Okie
i have read on other sites that M$FT declared NT-4 broken and UN-fixable right about the time they release Windoze server 2003, sounds like social engineering for the purpose of coercing/forced upgrades to me with the only motive (as usual) for maximum profit, in a short space of time...

If they did that on purpose, so what? Are you implying that a company is not allowed to be smart and make as much money as it can?

Also, no one's being "coerced" into anything. You only have to upgrade Windows if you want to--if you find doing so to be in your own best interests. No one's holding a gun to anyone's head. Microsoft's customers just have to decide what's more important to them.

[Zaren]

Originally posted by Whipping Boy
Just because something's illegal doesn't mean it should be.

Just because something's illegal doesn't mean it's wrong.

There's nothing wrong with being able to run your business better than everyone else and trying to make as much money as possible (as long as you don't initiate the use of fraud or physical force in the process). It's only illegal because some incompetent people got jealous of their betters.

*sigh*

I've thought about it, I've remembered reading threads for the last like what - couple YEARS - with this exact same argument, and you know what? I'm tired. I give up, you win. The competition is nothing but wimps who can't compete with Microsofts superior software so they took them to court, and I'm a communist.

*yawn*

I'm glad that whole thing has been cleared up.

~Z