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E.U. Commission: More Antitrust Trouble For MS
Tidal Flame writes "According to Wired news, Microsoft appears to be in hot water over antitrust issues again. The European Commission says it will require Microsoft to 'share more proprietary information with its rivals' and 'uncouple' it's Media Player audiovisual software from the Windows operating system." iCoach points to this article at The Register covering the same.
You're right, I did lose a million dollars last year. I expect to lose a million dollars this year. I expect to lose a million dollars *next* year. You know, Mr. Thatcher, at the rate of a million dollars a year, I'll have to close this place in... 60 years.
To make laws that man cannot, and will not obey, serves to bring all law into contempt.
--E.C. Stanton
It's like telling a thief to "steal less". As long as Microsoft does non-free software (as opposed to GPL or BSD-style), rulings like this will only help legitimize them rather than raise concerns of their ongoing practices.
Why can't they just have a checkbox when you install Windoughs for if you don't want these things (such as IE or WMP)? Linux Distrubutions usally don't make you install a certain browser (depends on the distro). If they do this, they probably will make you enter the product key 6 more times per product checked to not be installed;-).
This overlooks an important fact: MS's money in the bank belongs to its shareholders. If the business model of MS, for some reasons becomes worthless, then the value of the company will be reduced to its tangible assets, which are essentially this cash and participation in other companies. Shareholders, which will have by then seen most of their investment value disappear, will have all authority to cut their losses and pocket the money, and MS will still be gone.
Just a brainstorm solution for *all bundling* of software: Why not let MS bundle any software it likes, but under one condition: It has to adher to open standards. If it wants to distribute WMP, let it do so, but only the codecs that play open and well-defined media formats. So it has the choice to remove WMx-files or to document them fully. The same line of reasoning could be followed for future inappropriateness. dizzl
I'm sorry, but this is idiotic. I've had about enough of this 'coupling' shit.
This is how it works:
Media Player and IE are both FULLY REUSABLE ActiveX components that come with windows. Any windows developer can 100% rely on the fact that they will be installed on a windows machine (Well, not 100% with media player, but with IE, 100%). This means you can add simple media playback and web functionality to a program without having to purchase external tools or spend hours integrating some external solution!
I don't WANT components I rely on to be uninstalled. All Windows Media Player and Internet Explorer really ARE is glorified activex component hosts. The real work is done by DirectShow and the Microsoft HTML library.
I can see how this is bad for competition, but we're going after the wrong target here - IE and Media Player aren't the problem; the way they're being used is.
using namespace slashdot;
troll::post();
Almost? Shit man, MS gaves us Impossible Creatures and Asheron's Call. What the fuck did the french ever give us?
Diablo, Warcraft, Half-Life, and Tribes.
You DID know Vivendi was a French company, right?
Another important fact that is being overlooked is that although Microsoft has had antitrust troubles since 1997, they've also remained profitable every year since 1997 - very profitable. This EU thing isn't going to change that,
...MS will not be gone in your lifetime, no matter how much you wish it.
Unlike the Bush-defanged DOJ, the EU commission has real teeth. I suppose that if MS plays its usual games of evading things they agree to, it may be in for some of that "10% of worldwide income" treatment. That's real money, it's going to hurt.
Just like DEC isn't gone and Compaq isn't gone.
Have you got your LWN subscription yet?
Its silly to remove IE and Windows Media Player. I prefer them to other competing products. Many windows media players are not freely distributed, nor work as well. I suppose you could claim that I am paying for them since I purchased Windows XP, but at least they provide free upgrades. Competing products such as Quicktime do not. I have used both activex components in programs. A modern OS should have a built in internet browser and media player. I don't want to search or pay for one on top of the price of the OS, I just want them to work, and they both do extremely well.
Reason has nothing to it. Companies, like individuals should be allowed to make any stupid decisions that they choose to make. As long as nobody else is harmed, why not let a company make a car that works only with Brand X oil? Hell, my Corvette *had* to have synthetic, and I believe that it was only warrantied if I used Mobil One oil. Stupid decision? I dunno. I bought one anyway. I didn't have to. I could've been super evil and said, "I can't buy this because I only use Penzoil". But that decision was up to Chevy, and nobody else.