Sony and Panasonic/Matsushita should follow suit and take on GM and Toyota for "bundling" stereo systems with their cars and trucks.
One can't let their distaste for Microsoft to interfere with the realization that many of these "antitrust" cases are unwarranted, would be laughable in any industry other than tech, and risk setting dangerous precedents that will ultimately disadvantage consumers everywhere.
There isn't a worthwhile OS out there that doesn't come pre-bundled with a web browser or media player these days, just like there isn't a decent consumer-level camera produced today that doesn't come pre-bundled with a flash (before the EU was around to defend flash/accessory manufacturers and prevent this travesty). From a business perspective, Microsoft (and Apple, and the leading Linux distros) are delivering value by bundling useful products/features that go hand in hand with their core OS offering, and are ultimately innovating and improving on the concept of what constitutes a "complete" operating system solution. GM and Toyota aren't really doing much different when bundling stereo systems and air conditioners with their products.
Sure, the software business has standards that in an ideal world should be followed. But initiatives like the Mozilla Foundation (whose goal, along with making millions from Google, is to dominate enough of the browser market with a standards-focused offering that web designers have no choice but to accommodate such standards) will be far more effective and less damaging than serving token penalties dished out to the one software company everyone loves to hate. (Note: yes, I realize Firefox does not yet pass the Acid test, however in almost every realistic application it is a standards-based browser, hence my use of the term 'standards-focused').
Ultimately I don't think senior-aged EU regulators and lawyers that have trouble operating their televisions and cell phones have any business interfering with the tech industry.
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Sony and Panasonic/Matsushita should follow suit and take on GM and Toyota for "bundling" stereo systems with their cars and trucks.
One can't let their distaste for Microsoft to interfere with the realization that many of these "antitrust" cases are unwarranted, would be laughable in any industry other than tech, and risk setting dangerous precedents that will ultimately disadvantage consumers everywhere.
There isn't a worthwhile OS out there that doesn't come pre-bundled with a web browser or media player these days, just like there isn't a decent consumer-level camera produced today that doesn't come pre-bundled with a flash (before the EU was around to defend flash/accessory manufacturers and prevent this travesty). From a business perspective, Microsoft (and Apple, and the leading Linux distros) are delivering value by bundling useful products/features that go hand in hand with their core OS offering, and are ultimately innovating and improving on the concept of what constitutes a "complete" operating system solution. GM and Toyota aren't really doing much different when bundling stereo systems and air conditioners with their products.
Sure, the software business has standards that in an ideal world should be followed. But initiatives like the Mozilla Foundation (whose goal, along with making millions from Google, is to dominate enough of the browser market with a standards-focused offering that web designers have no choice but to accommodate such standards) will be far more effective and less damaging than serving token penalties dished out to the one software company everyone loves to hate. (Note: yes, I realize Firefox does not yet pass the Acid test, however in almost every realistic application it is a standards-based browser, hence my use of the term 'standards-focused').
Ultimately I don't think senior-aged EU regulators and lawyers that have trouble operating their televisions and cell phones have any business interfering with the tech industry.