EU slaps Bill & company...

[The WosMan]

Being a PC user for many years, I have a passionate dislike for M$ as I know I have to do more work than a MAC user to keep my computer running well. I also hate Vista and refuse to put that bloated POS anywhere near my computer.

At the same time I have a bias against the EU, it's courts, and I don't like them telling US companies what to do so I am caught between interests here.

I personally believe that M$ have really turned a lot of people against them with Vista and if we let the MARKET deal with things they will lose their share anyways despite their monopoly. One thing is for certain, not only did they tick of their consumers but they also ticked off video game developers and hardware developers like Nvidia and Creative. What they need is a class action lawsuit from all of these developers and customers of their product.

If they don't straighten that garbage out I have a feeling more and more people will be buying MAC and trying out Linux.

[Prof]

This decision is ridiculous. From what I've read, the main complaint was that including Windows Media Player and Internet Explorer as part of the Windows XP/Vista package was anti-competition. What nonsense!

There's absolutely nothing to stop users from deleting WMP or IE and using whichever media player/browser they choose.

Microsoft don't come tremendously high on my list of favourite companies, but this ruling is a joke. Microsoft should pull all their products from the European market and enjoy the chaos.

Will we next see the EU condemn apple for forcing iPod users to use iTunes? Somehow, I doubt it.

[Skybird]

Originally Posted by Prof

This decision is ridiculous. From what I've read, the main complaint was that including Windows Media Player and Internet Explorer as part of the Windows XP/Vista package was anti-competition.

No, too simple, what you say is only part of the issue. Read this:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/6994631.stm

[The Avon Lady]

Originally Posted by Prof

This decision is ridiculous. From what I've read, the main complaint was that including Windows Media Player and Internet Explorer as part of the Windows XP/Vista package was anti-competition. What nonsense!

There's absolutely nothing to stop users from deleting WMP or IE and using whichever media player/browser they choose.

Microsoft don't come tremendously high on my list of favourite companies, but this ruling is a joke. Microsoft should pull all their products from the European market and enjoy the chaos.

Will we next see the EU condemn apple for forcing iPod users to use iTunes? Somehow, I doubt it.

Precisely!

Apply such jurisdiction equivalently and without prejudice to every similar business scenario in Europe and watch the public backlash. But it won't happen of course, because the level of the court's biases is demonstrated in miniature by several of the posts here.

It's one thing to wish the worst on a company you dislike. It's quite another to get a legal system to do the dirty work for you.

[bradclark1]

Originally Posted by The WosMan

I know I have to do more work than a MAC user to keep my computer running well.

Sure it's not that you have a crappy system? Unless you are running Win98 of course. Just asking as I don't have to do squat on my laptop or desktop except turn it on or off.

[Skybird]

Originally Posted by The WosMan

Being a PC user for many years, I have a passionate dislike for M$ as I know I have to do more work than a MAC user to keep my computer running well. I also hate Vista and refuse to put that bloated POS anywhere near my computer.

At the same time I have a bias against the EU, it's courts, and I don't like them telling US companies what to do so I am caught between interests here.

I personally believe that M$ have really turned a lot of people against them with Vista and if we let the MARKET deal with things they will lose their share anyways despite their monopoly. One thing is for certain, not only did they tick of their consumers but they also ticked off video game developers and hardware developers like Nvidia and Creative. What they need is a class action lawsuit from all of these developers and customers of their product.

If they don't straighten that garbage out I have a feeling more and more people will be buying MAC and trying out Linux.

the market is only taking care of it, like you put it, if the market does not get protected and distorted by defacto monopoles. But MS OS has a market share of 95%. And how much the market limits MS you see in the many years Mac and Linux try to brake that monopole. but how man companies, and more important: how many private consummers, and most important: how many players run Linux as Os for their games? not too many, to put it mildly. and why? Because games get developed for windows, since Windows has 95% market share, and only technic freaks are able to turn some games - SOME games - into Linux compatible games.

It is like in the 80s, when Video-2000 appeared. at that time of introduction, picture quality was superior to that of VHS of that time, and you had cheaper and better cassette system. But VHS2000 died soon, because VHS alraedy dominated the market for video formats by owning 75% of it. the market failed, and was not able to take care of this defacto monopole for one format. Whcih in a way this time was a good thing. Else we would still have had half a dozen different video formats in the nineties. Also, VHS quality improved.

But this does not compare to Windows, here it would be very desirable to have software developed that is comapatible for Widnows-rivals as well. That this is not much done is because economically it does not pay off for developers - due to the monopole situation on the market. If you devbelope a game for Linux, it will be sold far less often than if you develope it for windows. If you develope it for both, it may see an increase in costs that in economical calculations does not pay off by increased gains to sell it to one additional Linux user - when having sold it to 19 windows users.

we need a strong alternative to Windows that is compatible for the same software that currently depends on windows. We will not get that alternative as long as MS is allowed to control the market.

[DeepIron]

I personally believe that M$ have really turned a lot of people against them with Vista and if we let the MARKET deal with things they will lose their share anyways despite their monopoly.

Not going to happen 'bro... Why? Because if you're a large PC manufacturer, you're pretty much forced to load an M$ OS and that will be Vista. Yes, I know that Dell still offers XP on a small select portion of their line, and they also offer LINUX on a an even smaller number of units.. But if you're buying a new box, it'll have Vista on it.

It's the same old saw, M$ has had such dominence in the marketsplace for so long that it will take years (decades?) before their marketshare is seriously diminished...

The other sad fact fact is that LINUX, or any other *NIX like system with the exception of Apple, are not in position to fill any vacuum that might exist should M$ sales decline.

After 20 years in the IT business, I've seen this same M$/marketshare argument many, many times. Nothing has changed...

But I'm still chagrined to see Redmond get slapped...