EU Accuses Microsoft of Curbing Web Browser Rivalry

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Normally I fall into a coma any time I read a news headline that starts with “The EU accuses Microsoft..” but, for some reason I didn’t this time. Now, after reading the article, I wish I had fallen into the coma. Let me guess, the EU is going to want more money.

The European Commission accused Microsoft Corp of violating competition law by including its Internet Explorer Web browser in Windows operating systems since 1996, the software company said on Friday.
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So, they have a problem with Microsoft including their Web Browser in with their OS?

They'd be crying if it didn't come with an OS.
 
that would be funny. Imagine shipping an os with no way to get online to get another browser :)
 
They should just ship a version of windows w/o any web browser to the commission leading this idiocy, and tell them to try it out for a few days.

We'll see how quick the complaining comes. :p
 
Maybe Windows 8 should ship and do nothing but boot up to a blank screen. I'm sure they would complain about that too.
 
You know, that's blatantly obvious but I hadn't thought of it before.

How exactly is someone supposed to download the competition, if they don't have a web browser in the first place?
 
there was a time when ISP's sent disks out with Netscape on it...
Then MS bundled IE and killed off Netscape

then there was that American case about that...
 
This is friggin retarded. You don't have to use IE. Just download it once and move to Opera, Firefox, Chrome, or Safari. Nothing is forcing you to use IE.

EU just wants more money from MS.
 
Plus also how else are you suppose to punish a company as big as MS?
The EU has tried lots of things and in the end it was adding fines to the unpaid fines to the late fines that got MS to adhere to other original rulings
 
eeyrjmr said:
Plus also how else are you suppose to punish a company as big as MS?
The EU has tried lots of things and in the end it was adding fines to the unpaid fines to the late fines that got MS to adhere to other original rulings
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Well how about punishing them for something worthwhile? IE was worlds better then Netscape ever was anyways. Bundling IE just sped up it's death.
 
I should sue someone because my phone only came with Opera. GIVE ME WHAT I AM OWED!
 
If you ask me, I think suing MS is the EU's way of getting some bailout money to prop up their diminishing economy too. :rolleyes: We are in a world recession afterall, some places worse than others.
 
Considering the Internet (and specifically browsing the web) has become the most common application of a personal computer, it only makes sense that a web browser is bundled with the OS. I've never understood people's hate of all things Microsoft and all these lawsuits. It's as if everyone just wants to siphon money from Microsoft because they have too much of it.
 
Vermillion said:
Nope, let's file a lawsuit!!!!!
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But isn't Safari such a POS that people actively search for a something else to use as opposed to IE which works just fine thus giving people no need to see if there is anything else out there to use?
 
I use IE and Firefox. I suppose I could use FTP in the shell to get FF if IE wasn't there.

I'm waiting for the Trumpet Winsock guys to sue. Fucking MSFT, bunding TCP/IP with Windows!
 
Exavior said:
But isn't Safari such a POS that people actively search for a something else to use as opposed to IE which works just fine thus giving people no need to see if there is anything else out there to use?
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Who cares. File a frivolous lawsuit anyways!!!
 
We should go back in time and let the Europeans wipe each other out without US interference. Absolute stupidity.

The EU is crying because Microsoft included a free internet browser thus destroying competition for the European companies that wanted to force us to PAY for their browsers? I'm a fairly easy going person, but someone should drop a nuke on the EU office if they can't see the frivolity of this suit. We want people to be forced to pay for a browser!
 
eeyrjmr said:
there was a time when ISP's sent disks out with Netscape on it...
Then MS bundled IE and killed off Netscape

then there was that American case about that...
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You mean those AOL disk? Trust me, Microsoft was praised for killing them off.
 
SelousSizzle said:
The EU is crying because Microsoft included a free internet browser thus destroying competition for the European companies that wanted to force us to PAY for their browsers? I'm a fairly easy going person, but someone should drop a nuke on the EU office if they can't see the frivolity of this suit. We want people to be forced to pay for a browser!
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Nothing is ever free, somewhere in the price you pay for windows (or for the pc with windows on it) you're paying for the development costs of IE. It's "free" only in the sense that it's included as baseline in all version of windows, but you're still paying money for the package deal and you theoretically could break down what part of that cost was related to IE.

I think your point still stands though, because I'm sure the cost is far far less than Opera used to charge, for example.
 
Vermillion said:
Well how about punishing them for something worthwhile? IE was worlds better then Netscape ever was anyways. Bundling IE just sped up it's death.
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Take that up with the American legal system then
THEY are the ones that too MS to court over bundling IE
 
Eva_Unit_0 said:
Nothing is ever free, somewhere in the price you pay for windows (or for the pc with windows on it) you're paying for the development costs of IE. It's "free" only in the sense that it's included as baseline in all version of windows, but you're still paying money for the package deal and you theoretically could break down what part of that cost was related to IE.

I think your point still stands though, because I'm sure the cost is far far less than Opera used to charge, for example.
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I think that's semantics. Everything has a mother product that pays for a pet project.

I find the lawsuits silly. Firefox, Google, Safari, Opera, Internet Explorer, Mozilla, Netscape, they're all developed right here in the US, and the EU wants a slice of the pie.
 
Vermillion said:
This is friggin retarded. You don't have to use IE. Just download it once and move to Opera, Firefox, Chrome, or Safari. Nothing is forcing you to use IE.

EU just wants more money from MS.
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How about just being able to uninstall it, and not have it be a drastic part of the OS? Can I have an OS without a buggy Web Browser?
 
Dear MS,

Since I can't stand using your IE software and have installed FF on my comuter I want my money back for whatever built in cost there is for IE.

Thank You,

The EU
 
Azhar said:
I think that's semantics. Everything has a mother product that pays for a pet project.

I find the lawsuits silly. Firefox, Google, Safari, Opera, Internet Explorer, Mozilla, Netscape, they're all developed right here in the US, and the EU wants a slice of the pie.
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Yes especially Opera developed in the great state of Norway you know east of Colorado or something....nice place, heard its a wee bit cold though.

I apologize however by bringing facts to ruin a solid good ol'fashioned rant.:)
 
eeyrjmr said:
That may be the case, the American legal system still found MS guilty in how they did it
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Oh sure, the legal system. The group of old men who probably still used carrier pigeons and smoke signals to communicate.

But I'm sure we, in the IT world, thanked Microsoft for eradicating the bloat computer killer that is AOL and Netscape :-P
 
Neutrino said:
Yes especially Opera developed in the great state of Norway you know east of Colorado or something....nice place, heard its a wee bit cold though.

I apologize however by bringing facts to ruin a solid good ol'fashioned rant.:)
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Wasn't a rant. It was more of an observation. I actually thought Opera was developed in Silicon Valley for some reason. I thought that for many years lol

Nice to know something new.

Most of my life, I thought BMW stood for British Motor Works until I was about, oh, 20? 21?. Had an argument with someone when he called it Bavarian Motor Works and then found out he was right =P
 
Fharakin said:
Dear MS,

Since I can't stand using your IE software and have installed FF on my comuter I want my money back for whatever built in cost there is for IE.

Thank You,

The EU
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Dear EU

The money you paid was for the operating system. Internet Explorer along with Media Player, Windows Movie Maker, Paint, Calculator, Wordpad, Notepad, and Outlook are all freely bundled with Windows for your own convenience. Don't like it? Then fuck off and go pay a couple hundred dollars more for OSX or pay nothing for Linux.

Sincerely

Microsoft
 
Azhar said:
Wasn't a rant. It was more of an observation. I actually thought Opera was developed in Silicon Valley for some reason. I thought that for many years lol

Nice to know something new.

Most of my life, I thought BMW stood for British Motor Works until I was about, oh, 20? 21?. Had an argument with someone when he called it Bavarian Motor Works and then found out he was right =P
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Well, i thought it was a rant...anyway i'm a firefox guy myself...however for mobile stuff Opera is by far the best IMO, apple should really allow it on the app store.

Anyway...it seems there are a lot of knee jerk reactions here, making it into a national thing. It isn't they do it all the time to eu based companies too. Its as in the US a somewhat outdated system (especially when it deals with tech stuff) that sometimes it gets abused.

i do agree with most people here about their issue with ie being bundled as ridiculous. However i would like to Microsoft and other companies (apple comes to mind here as far worse) to open up their system specs in order to allow other software like *nix to inter operate without guess based reverse engineering.....this can only promote competition.

Some small examples: OSX and Redhat stations running perfectly on an Domain, or Iphone sync directly with outlook, media player and songbird etc...
 
for fuck sakes!

IT IS MICROSOFT's OS - THEY CAN INDLUDE WHAT THEY WANT

They do NOT prevent the installation of other browsers either!

so, should they ship the OS with no browser? then how the hell do people get online to get another browser in the first place!


man!



on tomorrows news the E.U invstigates McDonalds for not including the option to use Bick pickles on it'r burgers!, next Week, BMW is on the hit list for not including Canadian Tire tires on their cars!!
 
Looks like tax revenues are down in the EU again. Time to hit up old MS for a quick cash infusion.

In reality, it is little more than another shot in the little economic war with the EU, Asia, and the US. MS is rich and US based, so it is considered a valid target. Hell, it could be argued that the EU was partly founded for the purpose of mitigating the blood loss to foreign economies. With much of the rest of the things they do being more like white wash.
 
sKiDmArK said:
Does OSX come with anything preloaded other than Safari?
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Nope and why Apple should be getting nailed as well then, why is it okay for Apple to include everything including the kitchen sink ALL made by Apple in the OS, but god forbid MS does it!
 
Bambi005 said:
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/0bf124e6-e40c-11dd-8274-0000779fd2ac.html?nclick_check=1

Financial Times explains it better. So it seems Opera was the one crying and using a previous ruling against Microsoft.

MS should just pull all of its OS out of EU and let them deal with OSX and Linux, and their super expensive maintenance prices.
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They could pull their entire operation out of the EU, and revert all Windows updates under the legal basis that they can no longer provide services within the EU. Then, the EU would overturn the whole thing pretty damn fast.

Except, the shareholders will never approve of that. :cool:
 
RadCliffeX said:
Dear EU

The money you paid was for the operating system. Internet Explorer along with Media Player, Windows Movie Maker, Paint, Calculator, Wordpad, Notepad, and Outlook are all freely bundled with Windows for your own convenience. Don't like it? Then fuck off and go pay a couple hundred dollars more for OSX or pay nothing for Linux.

Sincerely

Microsoft
Click to expand...



OSX is $150... ?
 
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