Microsoft Settles Korean Antitrust Case

Channy writes Microsoft announced on last Friday that it had reached a settlement with South Korean Internet portal Daum in antitrust case of IM bundling. Daum had complained to the South Korean Fair Trade Commission in 2001, accusing Microsoft of breaking the law by tying its instant messaging software to Windows. A lawsuit on the same grounds was filed in 2004. By the settlement, Microsoft will pay Daum $30 million, including $10 million in cash. In return, Daum would drop its lawsuit. Before this decision, Microsoft has threatened to withdraw its Windows software from South Korea if the country's antitrust agency orders it to unbundle its instant-messaging and media player software from the operating system. Despite this settlement, KFTC announced plans to continue investigation of this case and conclude the final decision within this year."

Comments

consumers

[mary_will_grow]

By the settlement, Microsoft will pay Daum $30 million, including $10 million in cash. In return, Daum would drop its lawsuit.

OK, but "justice has not been served". The problem of unfairly putting Microsoft's IM client in a favorable light is still there, and this company will still lose their market share to them, and consumers will still be worse off for having lost some competition.

Winner: The one with the deepest pockets! Subverting the not-quite-free-market to hurt consumers everywhere!

Mod me troll if you want

[NVP_Radical_Dreamer]

But I personally see no problem with bundling their client with the operating system, or even the media player for that matter. Most users use the computer as an appliance, they want it to just work. They dont want to go find an IM client and media player and install it, they expect it to just be there. If you dont like it, remove access to it via GPEDIT.

What I DO have a problem with is the amount of "digging" the average person has to do to find a way to remove them if they dont want them there.