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MS, EU Agree on Name for Windows Sans Media Player
An anonymous reader writes "Microsoft has agreed with European Union antitrust regulators on a new name for Windows software sold in Europe. Officials at the U.S. software giant said they had accepted the European Union's offer to call the European version of Windows sold without Media Player "Windows XP Home Edition N" - with "N" standing for "not with media player." Microsoft's "XP Professional Edition" will also include the "N" for versions sold without the media player. The prior name for the OS was Windows XP Reduced Media Edition." News.com also mentions the choice.
"Neutered"
Or, at least, that's what MS would have us believe.. =D
in girum imus nocte et consumimur igni
so wait.... The EU decided the name Linux and MacOS X are allowed to have media players in their operating systems Now consumers loose out on this because they have lsot out of the box features to a product i just dont understand, where the logic in this. Yeh sure they might try to be heading off a media monopoly but who cares? its the occasional movie and audio file. Pm3 and Xvid will still always be around. The mum and dad consumers just want their computers to be able to play a Cs when they put it in while they are writing their emails and what not. And why does the european union get to choose the name. Isnt that upto the manufacture? Hell, why dont they just go ahead and remake their own OS. I understand its as easy to install a Media player, but this is not the point. The Eu has spend a heap of money on fighting a legal battle with a product maker just so that people have to download a program to run their CD's and MP3's instead of out of the boc functionality. To hell i say with the european union. If i was microsoft i would just pull rank and move out of europe. Sure its an unrealistic measure but MS inst in the wrong on this one. And thurther more why are the other operating systems allowed to have their own media players (excluding some OS'es and builds of linux) and Windows is not. And dont call the monopoly defence on this one. We are talking about playing MP3s and the occasional film not some propriatary format they are trying to push down our throats, and dont tell me about WMA because for gods sake if the Mum and Dad consumers are going to use that format well good on them who gives a Dam I just dont get it, that the european union would fight a big evil corperation to cripple the product that their citizens use. I hate MS and its monoplistic ways but god as my witness forcing manufactures to offer alternative to windows and provding the Europeans Unions media companies with non-MS alternatives that are worth the time is a far better option to stopping your adverage joe having to spend 2 minutes installing Windows Media Player just to play that funny movie his mate sent him.