[Fsfe-ie] Microsoft Tax Update

[mmcweeney at oceanfree.net]

Guys,
You can stop here if you're short on time, but this is the LATEST with the competition
Authority (AKA The department of Enterprise trade and employment) re: the Microsoft
Tax.  Anyone who has time to offer some constructive advice would be really
appreciated at this stage.
All the best
Mel
_____________________________________________________________

Dear Mr McWeeney
Thank you for your email. I have every confidence in the work of Vivienne
Ryan, and look poorly on the allegations that you have made against her. I
do not believe that your allegations are supported by any evidence you have

supplied to me. Your complaint was considered properly and fully. We do
not believe that you have identified an infringement of the Act. As we
have many other matters that we believe may be breaches of the Act to
investigate, I do not propose to spend any more time this matter.
Again, and as stated in my last email, I consider that this matter is
closed. I reiterate that you enjoy a private right of action.

John Fingleton

John


To: John_Fingleton at entemp.ie
cc: Mel McWeeney <mmcweeney at oceanfree.net> 
Subject: New beginning on the Microsoft Saga 04/17/2004 22:04

Dear Mr. Fingleton,

I am pleased to note that your office has finally appeared to have given
some consideration to my complaint. Up until now, I've only had the
frustration of Vivienne Ryan, who made it very clear from her first
paragraph that she was having none of it. My best advice to you for now is
to keep your files on this wide open, because what Microsoft are up to with

suppliers is abuse of the highest order, and would strike me as being much
more worthy of the time of your office, than many 'high-profile strikes'
attributed to the Competition Authority recently.

To take your correspondance in sequence, paragraph by paragraph, I don't
know exactly the amount of time spent by your office on this, but you can
exclude any spent by Ms. Ryan on it for a start, because this was the
epitomy of dismissiveness from the word go. She wasted MY time too, and
I've got plenty of other uses for my time. Notwithstanding that, I DO
believe that prior to this latest mail, some consideration was given to the

points raised. After all, this IS "The Microsoft Tax" we're talking about,
this is 'the Big one!'

Believe me, I AM empathetic to considerations such as those you make in
your second paragraph, regarding the investment in time, and establishment
of evidence of malpractice. I DO understand that you need clear evidence
of such malpractice, but up until now, Ms. Ryan gave me no impression that
consideration would be given to any such evidence produced, should I and
others go to the rounds of accumulating same, but if I'm now to understand
that this is the obstacle you foresee, I would have no problem in equipping

you in this regard. This brings me to another source of disappointment...
you haven't given any indication that you would be interested in
considering such evidence, once accumulated. With the benefit of what
you've just read, maybe you'd reevaluate this position.

With regard to the recent EU actions, these operate on the assumption that
all end-users work on a Microsoft operating system, and the action hinges
on what additional Microsoft products should come pre-shipped with the
system. What I'm stating is, that Microsoft Windows is NOT the only
desktop system for personal computers, and those who elect NOT to use the
Microsoft system, STILL have to pay Microsoft, because of deals agreed with

the supply chain. I reiterate, this runs counter to the "Refusal to
supply" document on your website, in every respect. The customer is the
loser, and let's face it, everyone uses computers these days, that's a LOT
of losers!

I would consider this to be a REAL opportunity for the organs of state in
Ireland to take a courageous stand in the interests of the ordinary
proverbial "Man in the street" consumer. Rather than close your files,
please tell me what the impediments are with regard to Court proceedings,
and I'm sure I will be able to assemble whatever you need to progress this.


I still believe we can work together on this, and would be delighted if we
can proceed from here on the basis that you have a function to perform, I
believe I can assist you to perform it and you only need to tell me what
you need.

I look forward to the START of the investigation into this.
Best regards
Mel McWeeney

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