Microsoft Softens Up On Competition

shaneFalco writes "The BBC is reporting that Microsoft, prompted in part by their recently legal woes in the European Union will allow vendors to set non-Microsoft applications as the default on Windows computers. This initiative is part of a dozen 'tenets to promote competition' that the company is adopting in the face of stiff criticism of business tactics in Europe. Other tents include not retaliating against businesses that promote non-MS software, and a relaxing of restrictions on licensing Windows-related patents." From the article: "The principles might mean that some manufacturers will promote search engines other than Microsoft's own, Mr Smith said - an apparent reference to Google, which has looked to be on a collision course with Microsoft over search engines. 'There are certain steps we can't take that would have been permitted a decade ago,' the executive added." We touched on this announcement yesterday, but details on the '12 tenets' were less clear at that point.

Comments

We promise..

[vancondo]

One of the 12 tenants is 'Promising not to retaliate against computer makers that support non-Microsoft software.'

Hmm.. does a slightly higher pricing structure count as 'retaliation', or is that just good business sense? I guess it's a matter of semantics.

Means nothing

[loraksus]

All this will do is start a bidding war on the oem's end. Besides, installing the next version of messenger (or a MS download of any kind) will have a screen that will have all the default options revert back to MS's settings.
It doesn't really matter what browser they use, if the homepage is msn.com, they still get their unique visitor and ads displayed numbers bumped.
OTOH, .mp3 will be associated with Musicmatch jukebox or some equally bloated shitty app. I think we can all agree that is a loss.

Re:Your Getting A Dell

[drinkypoo]

Laptops also have considerably slower hard drives with slower access times. Many of the higher capacity laptop drives (100-120 GB) are also 4200 RPM which pales in comparison to the standard 7200 RPM of desktop drives with much larger capacities. 5400 RPM laptop drives are quite a bit more expensive than 4200 RPM drives, and that means most entry level and midrange laptops are going to use slow drives.

I think you left out the word "typically" as my laptop (HPQ nw9440) has a 7200 rpm hard disk drive. They're not uncommon in higher-end portables. This machine is sold as a "mobile workstation". It weighs about eight pounds and is around 1.1 inches thick, which makes it about the same weight and thickness as my old Mobile-P3 Thinkpad (A21p.) Pretty amusing. This has the high-end Core Duo whose model I always forget (T2600?)

Re:Your Getting A Dell

[Anonymous Coward]

You're Getting A Dell

You misspelled "You're going to Hell".

Tsk. Remember back when the Dell dude got arrested for pot? Dell dropped the familliar "Dude, you're getting a Dell" campaign like a hot potato. I think it was Jay Leno that coined the phrase "Dude, you're going to jail!" (he said before I saw it anywhere in print).

Re:Publish volume-based pricing

[donutello]

From Twelve Tenets to Promote Competition:

Microsoft will not retaliate against any computer manufacturer that supports non-Microsoft software. To provide transparency on this point, Microsoft will post a standard volume-based price list to a Web site that is accessible to computer manufacturers, as it has under the U.S. antitrust ruling. Windows royalties will be determined based on that price list, without regard to any decisions the computer manufacturer makes concerning the promotion of non-Microsoft software.

Re:And the problem is?

[jthill]

What you've got there is called a "strawman" rebuttal: a reply to a different point than the one at hand.

The problem isn't with them bundling. Never was. The problem is what they'll do to vendors who want to build different bundles, what they'll do to customers that want different software. Microsoft doesn't like to talk about those parts. They want to talk about everything but those parts. They got convicted of a felony for those parts. They act all hurt when people remember and act accordingly. All of this is very familiar to anyone who's ever had to deal with bad-prognosis 12-steppers. But, hey, at least they're showing up for the first meeting.

Impact

[Mr_Silver]

The question I have is, how many of these OEM's are actually going to bother changing all the possible options?

Okay, so someone like Dell might because they can make some extra money but if the large majority of the others simply don't bother then this change of policy by Microsoft won't equate to much for the average purchaser.

Re:Dual boot out of the box?

[Anonymous Coward]

Strange that this is the only post on this subject. Of course a lot of this is just marketing and something for the crowds. The point you raise is exactly what I was thinking. The first point is as follows:

1. Installation of any software. Computer manufacturers and customers are free to add any software to PCs that run Windows. More broadly, every computer manufacturer and customer is free to install and promote any operating system, any application, and any Web service on PCs that run Windows. Ultimately, end users are free to choose which software they prefer to use.

It says "(...) install (...) any operating system". The question is what does MS mean? Is MS going to give up its approach to the bootloader or is it going the Apple-way and or is this just a hint at some other news this week; MS was going to make it possible to run Linux on a Windows Server in a virtual box.

So apart from some minor changes (maybe) in the MS way of doing bussiness and the noise MS is raising with this statement I think this is the real question. It's (maybe) the only area in which this statement is going to mean anything real. So why hasn't anybody said anything on this subject?

BTW I do think it's good MS has released a statement like this. You can hold them to it, for what that means in day-to-day bussiness.