"amanfromMars
The Register is that way -------->
posted by : mediocrates, 05 November 2008 "

Actually, in probable order to avoid mediocracies, IT is this way <- - - - - - - -> ? 

The Register is that way -------->

Nice bribe...!br

Microsoft ..... the Spooks favourite Trojan Horse System .... a Window into your Innermost Workings. 

Call me a Cynic or Old Fashioned but adding IP rather than subtracting IP is the best way to make AI Fortunes and it appears that Microsoft are running on Empty offering paper confetti as "encouragement" whenever the world is awash with dodgy dollars...... which is a sure sign that they need New Blood and Beta Brains at the Helm of the Lumbering Leviathan. 

Asia is a lost market for MS. 
China likes doing things it's own way, if you don't bend over you're kicked out of the country. The WGA fiasco recently didn't help MS.
In Russia there was that ugly lawsuit against a school teacher, that ended by Russian education making open source in schools mandatory.
Most other countries are poor enough to be unable to afford an OS that costs more than the hardware, that in itself costs 3-4 monthly wages.
Then there are the countries for which microsoft refuses to localize it's software.

Maybe by making software that actually fills the needs of the people, is properly priced for emerging economies, properly localized MS could you know... COMPETE. As in free markets and all. Of course it's quite hard to let go of the old methods like slander, blackmail, bribes, monopoly abuse and probably other underhanded tactics.

There's a de facto monopoly in South Korea. Gen Kanai explains it perfectly in this post: http://blog.mozilla.com/gen/2007/02/27/the-cost-of-monoculture/