Microsoft will be in a familiar position tomorrow when it stands before a European Grand Chamber of the Court of First Instance, where the special 13-judge tribunal will be issuing its final verdict in an antitrust case that has been dragging on since long after the software giant finished its controversial little dance with the Department of Justice here in the US. According to Reuters, the five-point ruling will be handed down in Brussels on live TV at 3.30AM EDT, and will determine the validity of the European Commission's 2004 decision against Redmond on issues of bundling and interoperability as well as the subsequent sanctions that have totaled
hundreds of millions of dollars to date. The best case scenario for Microsoft would see the court overturning the underlying decisions -- automatically canceling the sanctions -- while the EU obviously hopes that its rulings and penalties will be upheld, effectively giving it a mandate to press for even more concessions along with increased leverage against other non-compliant companies. We'll have the decision for you immediately after it's released, so set your alarms folks....
posted Sep 16th 2007 1:07PM
Windows XP without any fluff attached! We can dream... we can dream...
Tux says "hi".
Solution: stop doing with those EU commies! .|. EU
Solution: stop doing business with those EU commies! .|. EU
Yeah, yeah, stop doing business with those american commies as well and let the propaganda begin, fyi, there is not even one communist government in the union, why is it that some americans think so ?
I don't think that is an option for M$, as they are in for making $ and €.
Europe is bigger than you think.
Also EU should somehow get MS to remove the rumored DRM, and the Genuine check.
Oh, well, who thinks the EU is communistic has really no clue about european politics. They are much more neoliberal than most of the countries that are a part of it.
The German 'communist'government has (just as an example) much, much more wealthredistribution- and customerprotecting laws than the EU likes to see (although the EU is working on changing that).
learn something about real politics that do involve more than smiling and blaming commies...
commies = someone more socialist than america.
since the us is pretty much socialistic now anyway, its really not that inaccurate to call a country further left than the US a commie, as they are closer to communism than most other forms ;)
And the "I hate Microsoft" bandwagon continues.
I'm already on the bandwagon
The bandwagon is the OS everybody uses even though it's horrible because "every one else does", and loses another plank every rock it hits as it crashes down the side of the gorge we call The Future.
I have my own reasons for disliking Microsoft. They happen to be very common ones, but I've made my choices myself.
I use 5 Operating Systems. I love them all in their own ways. Windows XP, Linux, FreeBSD, Mac OS X, and Solaris for work. I guess ScoViz for work also.
As of now, Google seems a lot more evil to me than Microsoft.
Isn't Google's motto "Don't be evil"?
how? All they have done is integrate ads into almost every part of our lifestyle, and hopefully (one day) into our phones. They control our worthless little blogs, our email, our searches, our instant messages, our maps, our youtube videos, and of course, our quest for good p0rn
rhyan... was that a sarcastic "how?"//
god I hope so...
Rhyan, you forgot that they have access to each and every file on our computer through this litte program called Google Desktop.
Thinking of it, Google has the largest bot collection in the world after Microsoft
Google's commitment to openness is nearly unparalleled, investing heavily in corporate transparency and open source software. If there is any one who is trying their best /not/ to be evil, it's them.
FYI, you don't have to use Google products.
There are other blog sites, email services, search engines, instant messaging programs, maps, and video sites. Albeit, the Google versions of these things are way better. But seriously, if you think Google is going to rat you out about your coordination of terrorist attacks through gmail or tell all of your friends that you were searching for gay porn... umm... then don't use Google, jackass.
It's one thing when a government forces citizens to divulge private information. It's a completely different thing when a corporation offers services that are completely optional (though superior) that could (but aren't) be used to invade your privacy.
If you think Google is evil, then don't use it and stop whining.
Wait, you don't HAVE to use Google? I thought we had to, just like we HAVE to use Microsoft. Because if not using Microsoft is an option, then this whole issue is idiotic...
Apple fanboys: Rejoice.
Race you to 20% desktop market share. You on?
Go ahead and drop support for PPC. We'll be ready. Oh yeah, and tell us when you're ready to play on /our/ hardware.
What are we at, 3% each? Let the games begin.
I'm a Linux guy, so all of this is irrelevant to me, but if I had to choose between the two evils, I would sway towards Microsoft, at least I don't have to RockBox a Zune to get it to play music.
That's because the zune can't even run RockBox properly.
I have a Toshiba Gigabeat, the processor is ridiculous for an mp3 player, so Rockbox runs beautifully on it.
I don't understand what this is all about...can somebody tell me in simple terms, please?
microsoft tried to touch you in an inappropriate way. now they're in tha troublez.
Exactly. I say no copy of windows should be allowed within 3 miles of a grade school :)
Edubuntu FTW!
Do you think those comments are smart? I actually want to know! And its a bit rich coming from you two, you obviously havent reached 8th grade yet.
if you 'actually' want to know THAT bad, then stop whining and type 3 words into google. I'm not your secretary.
if you want to speak of grade 8, then fine, you don't show up to grade 8 not knowing the abc's. there's prerequisites. You likewise don't show up to comment on this post to say you don't even know what's going on. now refer to paragraph one, again.
Impressive. But, why do you think i was asking you directly? I dont expect you to be my 'secretary', i was hoping a decent human being would read it and maybe help me out...but apparrently they are hard to come by in comments on engadget.
SHUT UP! please.
ohh come off it, don't make it try to sound like someone lacks decency because YOU'RE too lazy to read it yourself.
quit whining and type the damn 3 words into google instead of the 17 trying to reply to me.
it's assumed that if you're reading engadget that you know what's going on, and if you don't know what's going on then it's still assumed you can work google.
--I promise from this point forward to smother everyone able to post on the internet but not actually USE it with love. clearly I have nothing better to do with my day because I just replied to you instead of finishing my current ajax script.
Ah so you're a web developer? That explains EVERYTHING. I suppose you dont see people, you see noobs and t3h 1337...well luckily for me, i live in the real world, and yes i do know how to use google, and probably better than you, too, so STFU, nub.
And i read engadget because i am interested in the subject matter. This is a legal issue, so i really don't understand it, unfortunately i have a mental block for these things.
And i know there were too many commas up there.
Use the internet 'with love'? Get a girlfriend, already. Oh wait, not going to happen.
for gods sakes SHUT UP ALREADY. stop stomping your feet, it's not working.
It's a shame people like you exist. End.
Sorry Simon, but the DJ-Kenpo p0wned you at every turn.
Sorry John, but its either pwned or owned. Choose one.
Lol, now that we see you have no life and have to come back with something for every little thing someone says, I am going to go back to the real world and get some real work done while you come back and reply to this (or not, since I just called you out on it...).
I wouldnt think so much of yourself that you can change my behaviour. I'll reply to whatever i want. Nobody asked you for your opinion on who came out of that conversation on top, you chose to respond. Who has no life now? You, that's who.
Oh Oh... attack me next because I'm not going to read for you.
Ok, what this is all about is that Europe/UK is deciding to call Microsoft a monopoly or not. A monopoly is a business/company that dominates in what ever it does. No other business in its field can compete with it.
If the court decides to call Microsoft a monopoly it will be split up into smaller companies, only in Europe though. Which will let smaller computer businesses grow and succeed or just utterly fail on their own.
I just did this so if you hadn't already looked it up on Google or whatever you would know. And, to the other guys who responded to this, you don't have to be so mean. You could have told him what it was all about or just told him kindly to look it up on Google.
Thank you, Autopsy15, at least someone out there isnt getting too happy off the anonymity of the internet. It wasnt that complicated after all was it? :D
You're still a nob. If you can't do your own research, you shouldn't be on the internet. It's people like you that make it crap.
Oh, I'm so sorry! I bow down to you, supreme ruler of the internet! The problem is with you. It's not for you, or any other opinionated person using the internet, to judge anyone else. Having a feeling of online presence does not automatically mean you are anything more than any other person with the ability to type.
Yes, it does. You're a nob and everyone agrees.
It doesnt. Not everyone agrees with you, because i just asked a REAL person sitting next to me.
Would you go to a lecture on web technologies and ask the lecturer what a browser was?
Not unless you were a nob.
Would you buy Haykin's "Communication Systems" then write to him and ask him what he meant by 'mobile terminal'?
Not unless you were a nob.
Would you capitalise the letters in the word 'real', thereby suggesting that I have no friends other than on the internet, and also that the dozens of Engadget users who think you are a nob are not real?
Not unless you were, infact, a nob.
Guide for future internet use:
Next time you read something that you don't understand, decide if you have an interest in it.
If you have an interest, go and learn about it until you understand.
If you don't have an interest, go and read something else.
How about minding your own business and not telling me what to do? Is that really so difficult?
Seems that Microsoft will be tested. To be continued. Thanks for posting.
http:www.annglobalenterprise.com
If Microsoft wants to do busniess in the worlds richest market, it has to follow the law of the land. Just as if European companies have to follow the rules in the USA. No compnay or individual shall be above the law!
Anyone, the companies that will benefit from Microsoft ruling will, surprise surprise, be mainly US ones. Only an idiot would think this has to do with simplisitc nationalism....we all dont have a 'US mindset'
This is a lot of noise for nothing.
What has happened to MS since the whole Department of Justice shows?
Nothing. MS still behaves and conducts its business in the same fashion it did before all these politicians gather up to "show" their constituents that they were actually "doing" something to earn their pay. It's all fluff.
However, maybe the EU will actually get something done and remind these corporations how to behave more properly. Apple, you're next.
Rank me low. But, that's the price you pay for being honest.
That is because somehow MS flex it's money muscle and got "lucky" that the market drop right around those Department of Justice rulings, so the whole goverment over look it, because no one wanted to know what the fall out of that would look like.
Will EU do the same? Don't know, we'll see what the market does first, but I think the EU is not pressured by there corporate peers as much as the US is.
And of course Apple is next, but sadly it not Apple really, but iTunes, and what we call Music vs the world.
this is such a freaking stupid case it boggles my mind. and all you ms haters come out of the wordwork to post nonsense about DRM and why ms is evil? come on people. all microsoft did was put THEIR OWN windows media player and internet explorer in the operating system by default.
by that logic apple should be sued out the ass for anti trust for putting safari and itunes in os 10 as well.
understand the case before you bash ms for no reason.
I agree, there's nothing wrong with them doing that, besides the fact internet explorer is garbage. it's a nightmare if you've ever tried to write css for... it follows no rules at all.
I think most people are angry because they just want the damn thing gone..
no ones attacking apple, because while safari isn't great, it's also not the scurvy of the browser world.
no ones attacking ms for including a file browser. a calculator.. etc. they're attacking them for the stuff that makes them rip their hair out.
shut up kenpo... while IE might be a horrible browser, it's still something that I find mighty handy for downloading firefox. And WMP is mighty useful for playing videos (after CCCP is installed, at least). But, I guess Microsoft could remove the media player and web browser, and then the EU could go back to using AOL install CDs when they want to get a browser on their machine. Really, this is such a damn nonissue it's not even funny.
I don't know if it's just me, but Microsoft doesn't seem as bad as they were in the 90's early 2000's.
Now that competition has stepped up, and more and more new things are coming up in tech, Microsoft doesn't seem to be the "we'll just let our marketshare run our profits" kind of guy.
I think they're trying - slowly, but they are.
I'm thinking maybe Microsoft has learned from it's mistakes and maybe they'll actually work at being a better company. Making some nice and better pieces of hardware and software. I'm the guy that tries to see the good in things, rather than the evil.
Not all their products/services are bad, or people wouldn't use it.
So maybe Microsoft is changing for the better. I hope they keep it that way.
Congratulations. You've fallen for the viral marketing too. You actually think all the bad things about every company you read and all the good about MS is true?
Sounds a little dicey to me, but leave everything to microsoft, lol.
http://annglobalenterprise.com
I hope they kill Microsoft.
Should Microsoft lose they should issue a virus that will shut down all Euro versions of Windows.
I hope MS is pounded
PeE.U!!
I hope they don't get charged for bundling software. Apple have been doing this recently and not only that but they enforce the AAC codec and other 'exclusive to apple' standards as well as refusing third party programs on the iPhone. I can't think of more but I'm sure there is, Apple seem to have skipped the radar in this respect by offering somewhat simple and half-decent solutions in the way of GUI design, but really, choosing Apple over Microsoft is just a choice between two evils.
Interesting article on this here. Doesn't seem particularly well written or unbiased, but makes some good points.
http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,136949-c,companynews/article.html
mfed3, just read on.
Yess, Apple is monopolistic too. But it has no over 90% market share - in the PC segment, which is important for all kind of businesses.
Apple has over 80% marketshare in mediaplayers and in de US only, which is only one of the businesses.
Therefore Apple has no importance in Europe. Businesses In Europe don't depend of Apple.
The case here is ridiculous, and so european. They punish MS for its monopolistic behaviour, but legally they could catch it only for the default browser an media player. So, eurocrats should lie, and defend an ugly, uninnovative, agressive company: RealMedia. Just install RealPlayer to see.
I would like to know if the EU asked Microsoft to provide a version that doesn't come bundled or provides more options on what will be installed. Is it Microsoft's responsibility to anticipate the demands of the EU? If there were no other options out there, I might be able to understand why, but there are. If you don't like it... DON'T BUY IT EU. They would understand this if they understood how a market economy worked. If they refused to buy Microsoft, I bet that Microsoft would bend over backwards to accommodate them, Europe is a big market.