Microsoft may have stirred some corporate spot light the sort it doesn’t want, in the vacuum of an economic slow down that will wipe out sales of “Windows 7” new PCs and thus Office for Win7 sales where the meat is in the MS profit (for the shareholders).

hmm this could snowball, if the analyst figures come into play for Q1/Q2 2010 before the action goes to trial 🙂 The proverbial would hit the FAN. Figures in public domain, spotlight in the computer and financial sectors media – BANG!

Deduced dividend leaks out predicting Q1/Q2 2010 profits, followed by punitive damages issued by the US Government with very little effort from the FOSS Community. This would then force the analysts and brokers into having to declare Microsoft a SELL until Q3/Q4 2010 figures come into being or some incredible good announcement to over look another set of appalling figures caused through this unusual economic downturn.

Again in Q3/Q4 2010 figures are going to be a blood bath because of the PC consumer slowdown is going to stop the market dead in it’s tracks. The market for PCs going to people who do not currently have a computer is practically ZERO for all intents and purposes.

1. What are the users going to be able to do in windows 7 that you cannot do with Windows XP that justifies $350 for a new computer?
2. When people cannot pay their mortgage because they lost their job, and they going to buy a new PC?
3. If you are retired, or about to retire you will be seeing your pension vapourising and stock market seriously affecting your long term financial prosperity – are you going to buy a new PC?

And the buggers are even starting to print money to prop up this whole charade, and remember what happened when somebody last tried that stunt… IE printed money out of thin air.

See quantitative easing.

Bummer we could almost turn it into a sad short selling sport, to “spot” stock in the correct sequence in order to do short selling roll overs with the profits from each sinking. Now all you need to do is think laterally about products and their associated industries, and for the industries that float into your mind, think about the suppliers lead times and inventory levels held for a particular line item or BOM. Scary or what?

They will have to switch the financial systems off in every single electronic settled market place if the hedge funds started doing this – which they will. Surely?

Because as I say to people, if you’ve just thought about it, the odds are if you Google around your thought meme. You’ll find a community of like minded thinking individuals, and this networking is being accelerated by del.icio.us and Mag.nol.ia and other folksonmy driven bookmarking systems in our 2.0 world.

Did somebody say wheel? (PS I had a drink this evening 🙂 so it may not make much sense!

I think it could very well be, but the interesting observation is from the people who perceive the action is criminal on Microsoft’s part, would must surely hit the headlines from a Business Analyst point of view?

Submitted by asmiller-ke6seh on March 6, 2009 – 12:56 P.M.

It sounds like Microsoft is knowlingly counselling the violation of an existing contract which their patent licensees have previously committed to. This could put Microsoft in violation of such federal laws as Taft-Hartley. Microsoft may find that this ends up being a nuclear option, and not a good defense.

And the most interesting comment I found to be this one:

Time to Sue or Prosecute MS for racketeering
Submitted by Marty on March 6, 2009 – 5:38 P.M.

If M$ entered these deals with non-disclosure agreements, knowing that the non-disclosure is intended to hide their licensee’s violation of GPL licensing, then it sounds like Microsoft may be guilty of collusion and racketeering. Whoever is responsible for protecting the patents and licesning for GP licenses should sue MS and ask for a big-time punitive settlement. And the gov. ought to look into possible criminal implications.

http://blogs.computerworld.com/linux_companies_sign_microsoft_patent_protection_pacts

&

http://digg.com/linux_unix/The_Real_Reason_for_Microsoft_s_TomTom_Lawsuit