Compatability Issues

Many people can sympathsize with the issue of compatability of programs with software created by Microsoft. It is often difficult and extremely frustrating for users to run certain programs with Microsoft applications. This difficulty stems from high patent prices charged by the software giant. This has been an ongoing phenomenon for Microsoft, and they are finally paying the price for their unfair practices. The European Union fined Microsoft Corporation a record $899 Euros, which equals out to about $1.35 billion U.S. dollars, for failing to comply with a 2004 antitrust act, that attempted to stop companies from overcharging for using its patents to connect through windows. The EU is hoping to stop a “dark chapter” in the history of Microsoft’s non-compliance with the bill.Microsoft, the world’s largest software maker, announced last week that it will help competitors’ software work better with some products, such as Office, in an effort to allay EU regulators’ concerns over its dominance. While today’s ruling ends the 2004 antitrust case, for which the company was fined the previous record 497 million euros, the EU has two new investigations under way over Microsoft’s business practices.”

If all goes the right way, this should be a move in the right direction for smaller firms trying to enter the market, thus increasing the amount of competition in the market, which could ultimately benefit the consumer. It seems as though this was a long time coming, and it is a relief that yet another part of their market dominance is being restricted, and providing for a more competitve market within the software and online community.

Sovereign Immunity?

    There has been an ongoing suspicion of a certain collection agency. Recently the American Corrective Counseling Services (ACCS) has come under fire for falsely posing as a government agency, and targetting individuals who have written bounced checks. The ACCS actually misrepresented themselves as being the district attorneys office in their notifications to “wrongdoers”.

a federal appeals court ruled that ACCS could be sued over alleged violations of debt-collection regulations. The company had argued that it should be shielded from such lawsuits because it enjoyed the same “sovereign immunity” as a government entity.

    The letter would come in the mail, telling people that they owed a certain sum of money, and offering them to join a restitution process or pay the sometimes outrageous fees. Last year, the ACCS brought in over $250,000 fraudulent dollars.