EU Competition Commission Investigating Win2k

David Middleton writes "The European Commission is concerned that "Microsoft has designed parts of Windows 2000 in such a way which will permit it to leverage its dominance in PC operating systems into other markets." " The European market is one that's often forgotten in this whole anti-trust suit, but is still of critical importance to Microsoft. Now, this is not an anti-trust investigation, but considering the concerns of the EU commisioner, it's something definitely worth keeping an eye on.

Comments

Get a grip on yourself

[Anonymous Coward]

I can see you slipping away, out of your chair even. What the hell is wrong with you? Haven't you had any coffee today? You really need to get some more sleep. Look, I know I'm just your computer, but I care about you. Your last three programs were absolute shit. You haven't even gone back and debugged them. All that "extra help" you were throwing into open source development is wasted . . . I mean, it's a great idea, and I completely respect it, but you're crap, and everyone else has to patch the bugs that you're dropping in like sprinkles on an ice cream sundae. Don't even get me started on your e-mails. You're not even coherent anymore. I'm THIS close to locking up the next time you try to launch pine.

You used to be so good. You're smart; I know you still have it in you. But you've got to take better care of yourself. I've seen the stuff you've been eating. I can't imagine that a steady diet of pizza and fast food could be good for you. I know, I know, I don't have a body, so I couldn't possibly understand. Save it for your calculator, bud. If it wasn't for the 16 metric tonnes of caffeine you consume weekly you'd likely be grossly overweight. I can only assume it's the constant twitching like a rabbit on crack that burns away the calories. And I can't recall the last time I saw your desk devoid of pixie stix. What, do own stock in the company or something? Oh, you do. Never mind.

Get a grip on yourself. Yeah, you're making money now, but is it worth the crappy software you're coding? No, of course it isn't. Sleep. Go out once or twice. What's the use of having all that money if you're not going to spend it. At the rate you're going, you'll be in the ground at 33. Take a vacation or something. Just PLEASE try and take better care of yourself. I AM a machine, and I know I'm only going to be useful for a couple years . . . . .

statement de la commission Europenne

[Anonymous Coward]

Nous les Europeans sont bien fromaged off avec les "borgs" du Microsoft et ses systemme operating de Fenetres Deux Mill (Fen2K). Nous les investigaterons pour les breches de la loi sur la competition. Nous avons des pouvoirs draconnienes de frapper les infringeurs tres dur avec un grand tronchonne.

Mais nous ne nous fait trop de peine au sujet de Petitsoft et ses "borgs". Nous nous concernerons en plus de la site d'internet de "slashdotte", et la problem grave des "putains de Karma". Ca fait clairementun breche des regulations europeennes au suject de la controle de la prositution et du religion.

Parce que la slashdotte continue de distributer ses infractions sur l'internette europeen, nous avons les sentencer d'un campaign fort de "trollement". En utiliser le surplus europeene de porridge de mais chaud (les "hot grits"), et les services de l'acteur francais Jean Reno, qui a joue le charateur de "Leon" dans la film de ce-nomme avec NATALIE PORTMAN, nous pouvons deluger slashdotte avec des postes de merde.

Nous voulons, messiuers, de vous remercie pour la chatte de vos grandmeres.

La Commission trollien d'Europe.

All this, and it isn't even out yet?

[tilly]

Here is a list of things I have seen, what am I missing?

1. Microsoft has a security patch for it (that breaks something of course)
   
2. Microsoft's benchmarks comparing 2000 to NT 4.0 have turned out to be bogus
   
3. The EU has opened an anti-trust investigation against Microsoft over some of the "features" in Windows 2000
   
4. Network administrators are being advised to not allow *ANY* Windows 2K clients on networks using a Unix-based DNS system. (The client tries to take over. Can you say "food fight"?)
   
5. Novell has devoted an entire section of its website to refuting Microsoft's claims about Windows 2K
   
6. Microsoft has lost a few more top executives
   
7. The Windows 9x line will have Yet Another Rev. This is claimed to be the last rev. Again.
   

Gee, when it comes out things could get very interesting...

Ben

These guys actually have a clue!!!

[SytxErr]

From the Reuters article on the same topic, it seems that they are focusing on how M$ gives out their APIs!!!

Apparently the EU competition chief, Mario Monti, thinks that they do "it in a way which permits only Microsoft products to be fully interoperable. Microsoft's competitors, which do not have access to the interfaces, would therefore be put at a significant competitive disadvantage"

Does this guy read /. ?!?!

Re:These guys actually have a clue!!!

[spectecjr]

You see, it's not the documented APIs that are the problem. It's the undocumented ones that MS uses and keeps hidden that give them (another monopolistic) competitve edge

Hmmm... you wear wool... I'm willing to bet that from this evidence, you spend 90% of your time every day thinking about having sex with sheep.

Disagree with me? In that case - provide evidence that you don't think about having sex with sheep 90% of the time.

You can't prove a negative. Congratulations - you're spreading FUD about Microsoft:

Fear - Microsoft has "hidden APIs" which lets them get more performance out of their code.
Uncertainty - Will our apps get the same benefits?
Doubt - Will we be able to go to market with this stuff if we don't know if we'll be able to compete effectively?

Well, thanks a lot. So basically, you're repeating hearsay evidence that X, Y and Z person has invented... you're not even able to point to apps that run better because the APIs which they use aren't documented.

Give you a hint: Microsoft isn't that organized internally. I used to work there - on the Visual Studio team. And guess what I used to find documentation for all of my programming? And what my peers all used? That's right! A Favorites item pointing to MSDN... just one click, and all your docs are there.

Of course, you won't believe me, because someone once said to you "Oh, Microsoft has all these secret APIs - that's why their wordprocessor runs better than XYZ's one... not because XYZ didn't optimize the heck out of it".

Again - show me the facts, jack.

Simon

Re:It wouldn't surprise me......

[Ed Avis]

I would think that Brussels could also provide a law that it is illegal to sell a crap product to people while telling them that its great :)

Try reading a typical software licence - 'this product is of absolutely no use whatsoever and there is no warranty of any kind'. What should be illegal is claiming one thing in advertisements (eg 'XXX is a reliable platform for e-commerce') and then comprehensively denying it in the licence.

Let's make free software even more international

[dsplat]

For those of you reading this for whom English is not your native language. There are some things that can make free software more appealing in non-English speaking countries. Update or write HOWTOs for configuring Linux for your language/locale. Contribute to the translation of messages, documentation and man pages into your language. Contribute to the free Unicode font effort. Create a dictionary for ispell or aspell for your language if there isn't already one available.

The best will survive?!

[TuRRIcaNEd]

The best will survive. If people like Windows better, they'll use Windows. If they like Linux better, they'll use Linux.

Nice thought, but it doesn't happen that way, does it? In the US especially, it would be far more accurate to say:

The most heavily advertised and marketed will survive. If people listen to the media, they'll use Windows. If they are allowed to make their own decision, they'll at least have made their own choice.

As a dual booter using NT4 at the moment, I can't complain too much about the technical issues. However to Joe Public the computer arena is still a new and bewildering place to be, and the fact that Microsoft deliberately propagate the image that their software is the only way, using the media (to keep people stupid - in the immortal words of Bill Hicks). Don't you think that the stranglehold should be lifted to at least allow an alternative to flourish? All the EU seems to be saying is 'give third parties access to your API's'. Seems more like common-sense than strongarming to me......

Microsoft is using it's dollar value and corporate weight to stop others from even writing decent applications for their own OS, let alone use their software protocols on other OS's. That is why I dislike them. Their idea of utopia is of an MS-certified PC, running MS Windows, running solely MS/MS-approved apps, with MS deciding the rate of pay for these systems. MS is not the only offender here, but this goes way beyond monopoly. This is almost totalitarian thinking. If the EU can come down hard on Austria for electing a far-right-wing government, surely it can at least try to protect itself from a totalitarian US software company.