Outside the Beltway

GATES TO SCREW EUROPE

James Joyner
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Maybe this is our way of getting back at them for the Iraq vote: Microsoft Warns EU It May Get Substandard Windows

Microsoft Corp. said it would be forced to offer European consumers a substandard version of Windows if the European Union makes it rewrite its operating system, sources close to the case said Thursday.

Microsoft issued the warning to EU regulators, they said, during a three-day closed-door hearing to consider charges the software giant abused the power that Windows gives it over the personal computer market.

The European Commission has proposed forcing Microsoft to remove its Media Player software from the Windows operating system and imposing a hefty fine, as part of a remedy for allegedly muscling competitors out of the market.

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5 responses to “GATES TO SCREW EUROPE”

  1. Paul Avatar
    Paul

    Microsoft Warns EU It May Get Substandard Windows

    Don’t we all?

  2. Alex Avatar
    Alex

    It’s funny how these attacks never seem to go after the real problems with Microsoft conduct.

    I rather like media player. I use it in preference to Realplayer because it’s a bit easier to use and Realplayer seems to have an obnoxious habit of designating itself as the default for various file types without asking your permission.

    IE, which was the basis of the US anti-trust suit, is also pretty good. And it’s clear that no consumer was harmed by having the option of IE free or paying for Netscape.

    There are other things MS does that really hurt consumers. For instance, if I want Linux or BeOS on my system, I have to partition drives, do an install, generally a lot of work. It would be pretty easy for manufacturers to ship machines with those OS’s already installed and an easy option to choose which one you bring up on reboot, but makers can’t do that because Gates won’t let them install Windows unless they agree to install only Windows. That harms consumers; why don’t the anti-trust types attack that?

  3. lefty skeptic Avatar
    lefty skeptic

    LOL, Paul. You beat me to it.

  4. bryan Avatar
    bryan

    , which was the basis of the US anti-trust suit, is also pretty good. And it’s clear that no consumer was harmed by having the option of IE free or paying for Netscape.

    After using Safari, Firebird and Camino (even Omniweb) and weening myself off IE, I can say without a doubt that IE is dead last in my preference for browsers. It’s way too slow, even on a t-3 connection.

    Of course, Netscape would be dead last if it weren’t, well … dead.

  5. M. Murcek Avatar
    M. Murcek

    It’s amusing that Media Player is the thing that’s got the EU’s panties twisted up. Of course, people who use their computers mainly as an overpriced record player (playing stolen records) aren’t probably the most productive souls – that would be that robust EU economy, the 10% unemployed in Germany, listening to their MP3’s, right?

    Is anyone aware that the founder of RealPlayer is a big lefty political cash contributor?

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