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Microsoft Ready To Address EU Antitrust Concerns

Posted by Soulskill on from the twisting-their-arm dept.

An anonymous reader sends this quote from a Reuters report: "Software giant Microsoft is ready to introduce measures that would address the European Union's antitrust concerns about users' ability to chose between different browsers, European Commissioner Joaquin Almunia said on Saturday. EU antitrust regulators are investigating whether Microsoft blocks computer makers from installing rival web browsers on its upcoming Windows 8 operating system, following complaints from several companies. Almunia is in charge of antitrust enforcement at the European Commission. 'In my personal talks with Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer he has given me assurances that they will comply immediately regardless of the conclusion of the anti trust probe,' Almunia said at an economic conference in northern Italy, adding that he considered the matter a 'very, very serious issue.'"

15 of 176 comments (clear)

  1. It's a trap by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Interesting

    He ALWAYS says that, during the last anti-trust case, they lost, they where required to offer a choice. Microsoft would endlessly make some token change, then do a press release saying basically "EU has defeated us totally, we've capitulated, oh how unfair it all is", then a week later they'd quietly release details of the change they'd made and it was nothing, and didn't address the core point.

    They did this 4 or 5 times, each time doing a press release saying they'd totally capitulated, then release the change later only to find they hadn't done anything, then lobby US Senators and Congressmen to twist the law in their favor against with jingoism.

    It's a game he plays.

  2. For the record by symbolset · · Score: 5, Funny

    I'm a huge Steve Ballmer fan. I really love the direction he's taking the company. He's taking bold risks and exploring new avenues to give stockholders the returns they deserve. His work with partners - notably HP, Dell, Sony and Nokia are laudable: he's convinced them to operate on negative margins to Microsoft's benefit, even though their stocks are plumbing decadal lows on the stock market even on the eve of a new Windows launch. The man seems to have magical powers to lure others to their doom. You gotta give him that.

    I hear he's now heard about this whole "mobile" thing, and is working his legendary genius to start to study whether or not it's important. Once he figures this out we might have some innovation in mobile from Microsoft. In the meantime we'll just have to muddle along with what we can get from second tier innovators like Apple and Google.

    --
    Help stamp out iliturcy.
    1. Re:For the record by Anonymous+Cowardus · · Score: 5, Informative

      I'm a huge Steve Ballmer fan. I really love the direction he's taking the company. He's taking bold risks and exploring new avenues to give stockholders the returns they deserve. His work with partners - notably HP, Dell, Sony and Nokia are laudable: he's convinced them to operate on negative margins to Microsoft's benefit, even though their stocks are plumbing decadal lows on the stock market even on the eve of a new Windows launch. The man seems to have magical powers to lure others to their doom. You gotta give him that.

      He is taking bold risks because he has to. Microsoft missed the mobile boat years ago and they're now trying to catch up by cannibalizing Nokia's last hope for survival.

      He has no magical powers, on the contrary. Last time I checked, he was in urgent need of a few Anger Management classes.

    2. Re:For the record by symbolset · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Nokia's destiny is to be a filing cabinet full of patent licenses in Bellevue, Wa managed by 6 paralegals and one part-time lawyer. This fate is sealed. The full cabinet to the left is marked "Sendo" and the empty cabinet to the right is marked "Adobe".

      --
      Help stamp out iliturcy.
  3. Think About This by arbiter1 · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Apple's iOS blocks people from changing default browser off Safari, But MS gets sued and Fined for Even Including IE? How da hell does that work?

    1. Re:Think About This by asa · · Score: 5, Informative

      I know a few ppl will try to use market share agreement

      This has little to do with market share now. Microsoft consented to a legally binding agreement with the European Commission. You might not approve of that agreement, but Microsoft and their division of anti-trust lawyers did agree to it. Now it would seem that Microsoft is in violation of that legally binding agreement and the EC is rightly talking with Microsoft about that.

      Should companies be able to sign legally binding deals with governments and then simply ignore them?

    2. Re:Think About This by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Apple *makes* their stuff.

      Microsoft is telling a third party what the third party can put on the machines they sell running windows.

      Think about the subtle difference.

    3. Re:Think About This by phantomfive · · Score: 5, Funny

      Just one. Is a deal made with a gun to your head still legally binding?

      If the one holding the gun is the government, then yes.

      --
      "First they came for the slanderers and i said nothing."
    4. Re:Think About This by UnknowingFool · · Score: 3, Insightful

      If your memory is faulty, the problem wasn't that MS included IE for free with Windows. The problem was they strong-armed OEMs into not installing or using Netscape. Like hinting that their OEM prices would rise if they installed Netscape. As far as I know you can uninstall Safari though some of the libraries Safari uses are core OS X libraries and should not be removed. MS tied IE so deep into Windows that it could not be removed and can only be hidden. That's the difference.

      --
      Well, there's spam egg sausage and spam, that's not got much spam in it.
  4. Yeah, right! by whoever57 · · Score: 3, Informative

    "In my personal talks with Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer he has given me assurances that they will comply immediately regardless of the conclusion of the anti trust probe," Almunia said at an economic conference in northern Italy, adding that he considered the matter a "very, very serious issue."

    Isn't this the same company that somehow "accidentally" dropped the browser selection process for european installations of Windows 7 SP1?

    --
    The real "Libtards" are the Libertarians!
  5. Dear EU regulator: Secure Boot by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Hopefully the EU addresses secure boot on ARM. Locking out all other OSs besides windows on ARM devices is abusing Microsoft's x86 monopoly to attempt to create an ARM monopoly.

  6. Re:Dear EU regulator: Secure Boot by mlts · · Score: 4, Informative

    I wish they could add secure boot to the list that requires a mechanism to disable, such as locked bootloaders. This could be done similar to how the Nexus did the fastboot oem unlock, or similar to the mechanism of entering the IMEI, clicking yes to a series of dire warnings, and then getting a code to type in to unlock the bootloader permanently.

    Maybe it is pie in the sky, but it would be nice to have the ability to truly use a device one purchased as their own.

  7. Re:Chrome on Windows 8 by shutdown+-p+now · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Now try doing that on Windows RT (the ARM version).

  8. Re:Dear EU regulator: Secure Boot by arbiter1 · · Score: 3, Insightful

    So wouldn't the ipad be effected under this since apple does the same thing on their ARM device?

  9. Re:Does the EU do anything else than US bashing? by moronoxyd · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Does the EU have any other purpose than harassing US companies? This is 10+ year old news.

    Microsoft has a legally binding contract with the EU.
    It seems like Microsoft broke that contract.
    The EU investigates.
    Where exactly is the harassment?

    On a side note: The EU also investigates European companies in the same way if they break anti-trust laws. One example: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/8140024.stm