Anything from yesterday is probably too old ',INQUIRER School of Journalism" - 1 "791"
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French politicians want to tax tablets for not running Windows
THE GLORIOUS FRENCH REPUBLIC seems set to kowtow to Microsoft and levy a tax on every tablet in the land that doesn't run the Windows operating system.
For a while now France has taxed MP3 players after surrendering to demands from the movie and film cartels that it make all of its citizens pay for those few who download media content.
Now the French politicians have worked out that they can get even more dosh if they extend the tax to include tablets. After all, most of them are just big phones and MP3 players, they think.
However since the legislation does not cover computers they have to define what it is that makes a computer different from the devices they want to tax.
According to the French magazine Numerama they have decided that a device is only a computer when it runs Microsoft Windows. If it runs Linux or a Mac OS then it must be just an MP3 player that's being operated by someone who is a 'pirate' and therefore needs to be taxed.
So when the Vole peddles its tablets, as it has done for nearly a decade, they are PCs. When Apple does so, it is just an entertainment toy. While we are inclined to agree with the latter point, that would also apply to devices like the Galaxy Tab and anything else Androidish, as well as the Ubuntu Linux based tablet that is coming out soon.
It will also apply to the French-based outfit Archos, which makes very cheap tablets.
Archos CEO Henri Crohas raged that it is silly to say that tablets running Windows are less involved in copying media content than those running Android or any other operating system.
He said that such legislative action would distort the market in favour of tablets that run Windows. He said that it could be very damaging to the French manufacturer, which had to pay $3 million for taxes in 2009 on its other products.
It will be interesting to see if the clueless French politicians rethink this daft proposal. µ
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An Android app that runs a Windows virtual machine (actually, it would probably be adequate to diplay the animated GIF of Windows 95's "loading" screen). Show that to the Taxman, and demnd a refund, since you *clearly* now have a computer (as defined by brainless French politicians).
C’mon, even the French politicos are not that dumb; drunk, cunning and devious perhaps, but not dumb. These addicts to fashion are so mired in their own droppings that they couldn’t figure out what prostitution is. For their benefit, prostitution is when you sell your morality be that chastity [Ffrench “housewives” - don’t forget to drop the “H”] or self-respect [being owned by Big Business and Bankers and proud of it]. Not that others within the EU are not so damaged but others do not legitimise their immoralities like the French are always doing. They’ve even got a real aspiring Chosen Few, Sarkozy, oka Blair The Second, to prove it. Perhaps this is due to Gay Paree being one of three direct access to “Hell” - direct as in “Do Not Need To Pass GO“. Such is the legacy of The French Revolution, drunk and baronic magistrates, judges and politicians.
It's even more stupid than that.
The french goverment always destroyed the french small business. They always do that. They want to favour big french companies already implanted, the big ones that are friends with the corrupted governments. the big one that are used by the politicians: look our "Glorious republic", the one that build big world companies that can compet with us and japanese ones.
Well, yes we have massive companies, but no small one to prepare the future.
The glorious french republic is dying because of its arrogance. It has always been like that, it will be always like that.
I'm not living in france any more ... you understand.
They've definitely got the most retarded politicians in the world. First that "three strikes" law against filesharing, now this... wtf.
Plus in order to be successful at the expense of the others (companies). You have to target the dumbest of us and make it easy to use...
Such people furnished with the feeling that they can use and be the "cracker elite" of such high tech gizmos by ripping off whatever they want free of charge will be, faithful to their provider for ever. And I agree it is not the place of government to act on the behalf of shitty companies. You still can install any ripping and cracking programs you want on Windows OS... In a snap.
Plus in order to be successful at the expense of the others (companies). You have to target the dumbest of us and make it easy to use... Such people who feel that they can use and be the elite of crackers of such high tech gizmos by ripping off whatever the want will be faithful to their provider for ever.
I like the idea ;-) But I am far from buying a tablet this year.
For the record :
Everything with a cpu inside it must be considered as a computer. Windows is the OS that allow to the dumbest of us to crack and download music free of charge since the beginning of computing...
Cracking music with Linux is a bit more dodgy and require a brain. As for iOS and MacOS, you can give a try... You might succeed. No the culprit is the mp3 format and Napster. And a lot of dishonest Windows users.
Why is everyone placing blame for this predicament almost exclusively on the French gov't? Certainly no gov't should be crony capitalists, but this debacle concerning gov't integrity shows the influence of the corporate world over the public. This is what we should all be bemoaning; the plutocratic state of things
Get a Windows tablet. Set it to dual boot Linux. Show it running both OS's to a French Official. Ask him/her to explain whether it should be taxed. Warning: Have a mop and bucket ready, 'cuz their head just might explode.
To the uninformed US commenters, all of this is happening since the socialist candidate LOST to the wonderful US loving sarkozy.
As for the issue, I think the EU will soon inform them they are wrong and not allowed to do such a thing by basing it on MS's (or apple's)OS.
So does this include Windows Mobile 7? (or whatever its called this week)
And whats a Personal Computer? My phone has a CPU, memory and IO, just a basic Nokia but its personal and by definition a computer
This is a very good thing to do because all those eye-phones and and-roids are nothing more than IP ripoffs of the Micr0$uck$ LoseDoze Operating System (O/S) which is the only product that will all you to install the internet onto your computer and point and click and cut and paste and browse the web.
You go, Frenchie!
As a french fellow I just can say. This is utterly stupid. These guys will allow only a certain type of tablets to be sold in France. It is like telling the other manufacturers which are iOS and Android. To f... off... Windows 7 is not seen as a mobile OS here (it is not even an Os IMHO...)
What they don't grasp is, that just for the sake of it french people will buy anyways, iOS and Android tablets and crack and rip and download, just to tell the government : FFFFFFFFF U ! This is sad, but indeed true. Apple and Google might expect to make shitload of money if they sell music on their site. What Google don't sell music online ? Well guys it never too late to start...
What on EARTH is WRONG with these people...
Tax on a NON-SALE...
Let's figure this out.
Sell an item of furniture, and because the paint/ shellac/ stain manufacturers products are not used, TAX THE CONSUMER..
Sell a house. Because the BUILDER chooses NOT to use a popular / commonly available (a) paint, or (b) floor rugs, or whatever, the FRENCH will soon TAX the CONSUMER for THAT.. ETC, ETC
Question... What did my fellow countrymen at MS do to sway the French politicos to do add MORE debt to their OWN FELLOW-COUNTRYMEN.
...talk about the power of suggestion..
Seems counter-intuitive; maybe if they can fit in a SIM card, it could be defined as a cell-phone?
Wow, the French are so arrogant they don't even understand technology. Let's make a new tax called the stupid tax which only applies to France.
Enjoy your French socialized punishment.
What else is new. They own most governments. Where do you think all that money they make go? Research? Nope.