EU Releases Microsoft Antitrust Report

Hassman writes "Ever wondered the reasoning behind the EU fining Microsoft and ordering them to sell a Media Player free version of Windows? Well now you can stop wondering. If you aren't up for the full read (it is 302 pages), check out the Reuters summary. Want more? Check out a quote from the summary: 'There is a huge switching cost to using a different operating system [as in not Windows],' he [a MS exec] wrote Gates. 'It is this switching cost that has given customers the patience to stick with Windows through all our mistakes, our buggy drivers, our high TCO, our lack of a sexy version at times...' Mmm...sexy indeed." Reader BrerBear writes "News.com is reporting that the European Union has released its report on Microsoft's conduct, to which Microsoft has pre-emptively responded. Inside are more classic examples of what one should never write in an internal memo: 'In short, without this exclusive franchise called the Windows API, we would have been dead a long time ago,' from Microsoft Sr. VP Bob Muglia."

Comments

Re:memo stated teh obvious

[torpor]

all i can see for microsoft right now is MSLinux.

if they don't start their own distro effort (many say they already have), then they are going to be left in the dust. the best option for MS would be to do what Apple did: get the old API's wrapped into a functioning new "Classic" layer, and turn to Linux/BSD for all else.

linux is unstoppable. If we don't have MSLinux around in a year, I will print out those three words and eat them.

Win32 API for all?

[wandazulu]

Okay, I'm sure there's a valid reason, probably legal, but to make porting easier to another OS, like Linux, why hasn't anyone tried to port the Win32 APIs? Put them on top of a windowing toolkit (or just use the raw XLib) and make all the appropriate changes under the hood, so to speak. Mono's doing something similar with the whole .NET libraries, but presumably even .NET on Windows is making Win32 API calls underneith all that wrapping.

I'm not saying this is easy, or even necessarily desirable (see: slipperly slope) but since Microsoft has tried making it "easy" to port apps to Windows, why hasn't anyone turned around and make it easy to port Windows apps to Linux (we'll leave MFC & ATL for later. :) ).