Microsoft still can't take a hint.

[Erik Mesoy]

Article 1 - Microsoft threatened with 2 million Euro in daily fines.

The European Commission on Thursday threatened to hit Microsoft with a 2 million euro daily fine for refusing to open Windows to third parties. Microsoft criticized the announcement by saying the EU doesn't understand the difference between opening source code and APIs.

In March 2004, the EU ordered that Microsoft give competitors access to certain Windows networking protocols, which "would allow non-Microsoft work group servers to achieve full interoperability with Windows PCs and servers." The demand was in addition to a 497 million-euro fine and a requirement that Microsoft strip Media Player from Windows XP.

Article 2 - "EU antitrust regulator warns Microsoft over Vista".

The EU's top antitrust regulator has sent a letter to Microsoft warning the company that it will not be allowed to sell its new Windows Vista operating system in Europe if it comes prepackaged with certain features, the Wall Street Journal reported in its online edition, quoting EU competition commissioner Neelie Kroes.

'We expect that Microsoft will design Vista in a way which is in line with the European competition laws,' Kroes was quoted as saying in an interview. 'It would be rather stupid to design something that is not.'

I believe someone was saying here a little while back that Europe, as a whole, appears to lack testes. Well, what has the Department of Justice done to this infamous monopoly abuser lately?

Deep down inside, I'm hoping Microsoft replies with a sexual order in the imperative. Because the next step that the European Commission can take, IIRC, is to simply seize the source code and make it public.
<edit>The US Department of "Justice" found Microsoft to be a flagrant monopoly abuser first. So no crap about how Europe hates Microsoft/US companies/large corporations/Bill Gates/competition, please. It just so happened that the EU had the courage to do what the US was saying and never did.</edit>

 

[Tank_Guy#3]

This is economic Darwinism, if your company can't survive through adaptation or the consumption of other companies, they should be consumed or die off.

@Erik: They lack those only in a fight with those that have standing armies. They get over confident when they see a corporation.

They sieze the source code for the networking, then Microsoft will strike back, hard.

If you don't like the way Microsoft is doing things, develop your own networking stuff. Microsoft is not obligated to provide access to those. They could be trade secrets, and if so, could be used against Microsoft, and any company regardless of size would not like that. Also, why strip Media Player away from XP? The EU has no right to determine what a company includes in its product. Industrial products like asbestos and lead, perhaps, but not software included iwth an operating system. That is the biggest pile of bull I've seen since parousing an article of some of Kevin Trudeau's "Natural Cures &#8220;They&#8221; Don&#8217;t Want You to Know About".

^^^
That takes the cake on the most moronic waste of space on the planet.

 

[PriestOfDiscord]

Microsoft will strike back, how? China has proven time and time again there is nothing anyone can do to protect intellectual property if the government isn't interested in protecting it.

 

[Grisu]

nobody forces MS to do business in the EU, if they don't like their laws they can always pack their bags and leave (which they of course will not, since there's a ton of euros to be made here )

personally, I'd like to see how MS strikes back, hard they haven't brought anything new by themselves in a long time now.....

 

[Erik Mesoy]

If you don't like the way Microsoft is doing things, develop your own networking stuff. Microsoft is not obligated to provide access to those.

Oh, but they are. Read about why standards are a good idea.

In 1904, a fire broke out in the basement of the John E. Hurst & Company Building in Baltimore. After taking hold of the entire structure, it leaped from building to building until it engulfed an 80-block area of the city. To help combat the flames, reinforcements from New York, Philadelphia and Washington, DC immediately responded&#8212;but to no avail. Their fire hoses could not connect to the fire hydrants in Baltimore because they did not fit the hydrants in Baltimore. Forced to watch helplessly as the flames spread, the fire destroyed approximately 2,500 buildings and burned for more than 30 hours.

This is economic Darwinism, if your company can't survive through adaptation or the consumption of other companies, they should be consumed or die off.

That would make you approximately the economic equivalent of an evilutionist.

The EU has no right to determine what a company includes in its product. Industrial products like asbestos and lead, perhaps, but not software included iwth an operating system.

Whyever not? Imagine incompatible documents getting sent somewhere in the military.

EDIT: Not to mention that the EU has already determined it and has already had the right to determine it. Microsoft just doesn't want to recognize this.

 

[EdwardTking]

Citizens of the USA do not pay Her Majesty the Queen
taxes for listening, thinking, speaking or writing in english,
and there is no moral reason why we should pay the USA
taxes for having our computers use coding logic from Microsoft.

 

[Stile]

nobody forces MS to do business in the EU, if they don't like their laws they can always pack their bags and leave (which they of course will not, since there's a ton of euros to be made here )...

You act like you could care less. Everyone knows you won't kick out MS. You want Vista... you need Vista... you can't live without Vista. Everyone knows the US is tops in technology... [clears throat]... readiness. Without MS, the EU will be forced to set up networks with Nicaragua and Ethiopia.

 

[Kozmos]

WTH I like my windows with the media player,why are they trying to take my media player away!?TELL ME!!!

 

[Sidhe]

You act like you could care less. Everyone knows you won't kick out MS. You want Vista... you need Vista... you can't live without Vista. Everyone knows the US is tops in technology... [clears throat]... readiness. Without MS, the EU will be forced to set up networks with Nicaragua and Ethiopia.

I'd like a viable choice of OS, for me Windows has tarnished itself too many times by ruining my weekend having to reinstall the peice of garbage because it crashed iretrievably(I was on the last damn level of half life when it happened the first time!!) lesson learned, copied my saves to disk or cd from then on periodically, xp is too little too late. I long for the day I can chose my operating system. Sadly I like to play games alot so I'm a bit limited.

 

[Grisu]

You act like you could care less. Everyone knows you won't kick out MS. You want Vista... you need Vista... you can't live without Vista. Everyone knows the US is tops in technology... [clears throat]... readiness. Without MS, the EU will be forced to set up networks with Nicaragua and Ethiopia.

I'm not quite sure weather you're serious or not, but I'm gonna take it serious for now I hope you are aware that Microsoft is a VERY minor player when it comes to networks, right?

I'm quite sure that the EU will not kick out MS, but I'm equally sure that MS will never risk being kicked out so in the end they'll propably meet somewhere in the middle...

as for Vista? what exactly is new with vista? so far I see absolutely no reason to get it...

 

[Riesstiu IV]

WTH I like my windows with the media player,why are they trying to take my media player away!?TELL ME!!!

I don't know. I think the media player ok. I don&#8217;t use it that much anyways and you can always download non-Microsoft players. I just hope Windows Vista isn't going to be some massive crap fest upon its release, and not some slighty better version of XP.

 

[Grisu]

WTH I like my windows with the media player,why are they trying to take my media player away!?TELL ME!!!

you can keep your media player if you wish, but I don't want to be forced to have that thing on my computer with no option to remove it....

 

[Darklord]

They aren't trying to take the media player away. The EU is trying to prevent the anti-competitive nature of Microsoft who are muscling out the competition by including its own version of everything in its OS. Microsoft has been criticised in the past for including its own software to gain a monopoly of that market (including Internet Explorer to gain a foothold in the Internet browsers for example). Of course what happens when they can't beat a product is they try to circumvent it (e.g. why hotmail seems to be missing options in any other browser than IE). Besides, if you really wanted Windows Media Player it would be available on their website for free.

 

[Stile]

I'm not quite sure weather you're serious or not, but I'm gonna take it serious for now I hope you are aware that Microsoft is a VERY minor player when it comes to networks, right?
...

The article #1 mentions one of the demands as access to MS's network protocols. Oh and I'm rarely serious.

I'd like a viable choice of OS,

You have a choice now: XP or XP-MCE.

 

[Sidhe]

I have 3 media players and I actually prefer media player, it's the one piece of media software I had no choice in but that I actually don't mind. Firefox is more secure than windows explorer, why anyone uses that leaky old boat is beyond me. Actually the reason why many infections don't target firefox is because most people use Windows explorer, forget I spoke You have a monopoly you get one choice, it may be crap it maybe good, but the point is it'll be better if it has competition and choice, that is just good business sense, do people think microsoft could of got away with a substandard OS for so long if they were a 25 % share in the market along side 6 other major players? Answers simple, restrict microsoft in the interest of consumer choice. Bad for microsoft good for the consumers? Why do you think monopoly laws exist?

 

[Kozmos]

you can keep your media player if you wish, but I don't want to be forced to have that thing on my computer with no option to remove it....

Oh yeah there should be that option.Now it makes sense thanks.

 

[Mirc]

I don't know, it really has no remove option?

 

[superisis]

You guys seriously think that Microsoft could kick the EUs ass? Economically? The EU's economy is larger than americas. I don't know about Windows sales, but I'll bet that more than 30% of microsoft's business is made i Europe. I doubt that Microsoft will cut of both its legs. Please, Microsoft is tiny compared to the EU. Luxemburg has a greater chance of kicking getting their will through unanimosly, than MS. Please

 

[kingjoshi]

For some reason, I see MS coming out of this just like they did with the US DOJ. Until real changes happen, I won't believe it.

 

[Erik Mesoy]

For some reason, I see MS coming out of this just like they did with the US DOJ. Until real changes happen, I won't believe it.

Well, did you see the bit about "497 million-euro fine" previously?

It's been paid. Microsoft has complained, of course, and appealed, and generaly tried to weasel out of it, but they have paid two weeks' earnings.