EU Hits Microsoft With New Antitrust Charges

”EU Hits Microsoft With New Antitrust Charges Reviving Old Fight, Regulators Accuse Software Giant of Harming Competitors by 'Tying' Web Browser to Windows   The European Union charged Microsoft Corp. with new antitrust violations, reanimating a pursuit of the software giant that has already led to more than $2 billion in fines and has defined Europe's approach to policing big business.   In the charges, delivered Thursday to Microsoft, the EU accuses Microsoft of "tying" its Web browser, Internet Explorer, to its Windows operating system in a move that allegedly stifles competition from other makers of browsers.   The action, which revives issues at the heart of a U.S. antitrust case a decade ago, comes more than a year after Microsoft Chief Executive Steve Ballmer effectively ...”             o 16 hours ago           o VINCE HEINE         To begin, this country needs to be pro business, which should include small businesses more than it does. We need to step up anti trade laws and be pro small business. The fact that Microsoft skirts past anti-trade regulators in the states is ridiculous. Basically there is one engine to run all cars (yes, I know technically there r other operating systems than WIndows). What is more, the engine stinks as Vista is garbage. I've never owned a Mac, but I will soon. Divest this fat pig, if for nothing more than revenge for crappy proprietary software.             o 14 hours ago           o Larry Seltzer         Vince - The fact is that you've always had plenty of choices in operating systems and browsers.   If you don't like IE you can easily, and for free, get any number of other browsers.   OEMs are free to sell computers with these other operating systems and other browsers with Windows.   They don't because - this is an important point, so pay attention - nobody wants it. ***KJ = But Vince you CAN'T UNINSTALL IE. SO, IE WILL BE ON EVERY WINDOWS BASED PC IN THE WORLD. THINK OF THE CONTROL THAT GIVES MS. They have 24/7 access to you PC without YOU even know it. The Solution is simple - let us UNINSTALL IE. ===           o 11 hours ago           o William Walsh         "Pro business"? You're kidding, right? So we're told to destroy one of the most successful small businesses in history for "revenge?" ***KJ = Of Course, they are - "one of the most successful small businesses in history" They have a MONOPOLY.       *           o 15 hours ago           o Carlos Gonzalez         Firefox only 3% market share in Europe? That must be a typo. I believe it was north of 20% in Europe.         *           o 15 hours ago           o Tom Stephenson         Sounds like the EU continues to view MSFT as a cash cow. ***KJ =NO they see them AS THE MONOPOLY THEY ARE. Have they noticed IE continues to lose marketshare to the likes of Firefox, Safari, Chrome etc. Maybe they should look at Apple and OSX where Safari is part of the OS? Unbelievable!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!   ***KJ = But IE is still on ALL PCs.       *           o 10 hours ago           o Mike Morone         Microsoft should tell the EU to shove it by pulling all its offerings from the European marketplace. This would bring commerce in Europe to a halt. ***KJ =Of course THAT IS HOW A MONOPOLY WORKS. The US would thereby gain a such huge economic advantage that we could afford to compensate Microsoft for its lost income. Simplistic, I know. But the thought of the EU begging Microsoft for forgiveness is so, so appealing! ***KJ = Wonder WHY Mike HATES the EU so bad.     *           o 9 hours ago           o Jim Landers         I agree, Mike. I'd love to see MS tell the EU to stick it in their ear. It couldn't happen to a bigger bunch of hypocrites and parliamentary do-nothings. Come on, Steve Ballmer! It's time to tell the EU PU!       American consumers ought to send a message to the megalomanics in Brussels by refusing to buy European tech and durable goods. Phillips, Electrolux, Volkswagen, etc., come to mind. The EU is becoming really tedious.   ***KJ = Make that - Wonder WHY Mike and Jim HATES the EU so bad.             o 7 hours ago           o Abraham Kleinfeld         Obviously Europe is broke and they need to a cash injection from Microsoft. Their browser argument just doesn't hold water. There are plenty of choices today and they are all free. And the difference between the alternatives is so small the average user doesn't care, anyway. Let it go, Europe.   ***KJ = Make that - Wonder WHY Mike and Jim and Abraham HATES the EU so bad.       *           o 7 hours ago           o Patrick Dempsey         As a software provider, I don't care which browser our customer users as long as Internet Explorer is on the system so that we can use it for our web interface work.         I don't understand the EU's obsession with Internet Explorer. Do they want to dumb down American companies to their level?     ***KJ = Patrick? HOW would being able to UNINSTALL IE "dumb down" anything?      *           o 5 hours ago           o Tim Richardson         "In Europe, Microsoft's position is even weaker. In November, Internet Explorer accounted for just under 60% of the market, while Opera held 5% and Firefox held 3%, according to Web analysis firm XiTi."       Firefox held 31% in fact, not 3%. http://www.xitimonitor.com/en-us/browsers-barometer/browsers-barometer-november-2008/index-1-2-3-153.html ***KJ = Maybe but ALL WINDOWS BASED PCs IN THE WORLD HAVE IE ON THEM. MONOPOLIES AND ?OPOLIES ARE BAD.           o 2 hours ago           o Brian Nguyen         Are they going after Microsoft for really old issues, or claiming that this is a new one? Almost every new major OS comes with a browser pre-installed, and you can easily choose to download another one as soon as you load Windows. What, are they expecting Microsoft to include other browsers during the installation (which guys like DELL, HP, already do on some PC's), or not to include any browsers at all?         Please Join this Group to participate in Discussion.       *           o 2 hours ago           o Bahadir Yavuz         Do journalist and editors ever check the article before publication? There are many missing words, misspellings and incorrect data (IE 60%, Opera 5% and Firefox ONLY 3%, I assume it should be 23%). Machines can't do all the work for you gentlemen, you've still got to take your pen and rulers and read the article line by line.