http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...referrer=email

"Just when Bill Gates thought Microsoft was close to resolving the
last major regulatory probe into its business practices, Japan's
antitrust agency launches an investigation into whether the software
goliath used its might to force concessions from key customers."

[...]

"Sources close to the action said Microsoft has allegedly forced
Japanese PC makers to accept a contractual clause stipulating that
they will not bring a case to court even if the software giant's
technologies are very similar to those developed by Japanese firms."

[...]

"In 1998, the FTC, after 11 months of investigation, issued a pro
forma warning for Microsoft's Japanese unit because of the way it had
bundled its popular Office programs. Microsoft provided Office
programs to Japanese computer makers with a small bundle comprising
only word processing program Microsoft Word and spreadsheet maker
Excel," the news service said, noting this triggered a raid on
Microsoft's Tokyo office in 1998. "Along with the warning, the FTC
issued a recommendation that Microsoft should give Japanese computer
makers a choice in which software to install."

Choice is the one thing any company with a shoddy product can never
allow.

Bo Grimes wrote:
running any M$ environment, and that be winME, in the DOS environment...

But, I wonder that the Japanese don't rail against the 'Thailand
Bundle', of winXP Home and XP Office for $40.00 for all educators...

Now NSA has released an updated SELinux, to boot!

And Cheapbytes.com has listed a whole bunch of Knoppix distros, thanks
to 'yours truly'! Try Slack on Knoppix, the Stux distro, and FreeDuc
for the K-12 education crowd, endorsed by U.N.E.S.C.O.!