General Discussions

**ibbo** · 07-07-2006, 09:29 AM

http://politics.slashdot.org/article...59246&from=rss

So it looks like Europe may do what the US failed to do and actually bring charges against MS for not playing fair and to Europes demands.

This has landed them in hot water in Europe who are in the process of working out the best way to punish them for their (perhaps blatent) feet dragging.

The posts under the article do delve into the case and you can bet that Europe will have its way and even fasntasies about the outcome should MS fight them.

I like the part about Europe nullifying MS copyright in Europe and releasing everything under GPL or some such. Thats would make big crakcs.

I'm quite keen to follow this one. And some of the suggestions made in the follow up posts from the article are quite interesting.

Anyway hopefully Europe will go all the way and show that massive corporate business is not and shall never be bigger than government (in Europe anyway).

Ibbo

**stOx** · 07-07-2006, 01:24 PM

yeh this is interesting.. It doesn't look like the EU are going to back down either.

**Minaki** · 07-10-2006, 08:24 AM

I hate the EU... always wasting time on really minor issues.

What's the problem with MS shipping Windows with Media Player? It's giving the customers what they want - which is what's made MS so sucessfull in the past. It's not like they're preventing other companies from making media players that work on Windows. Now that would be a cause for concern...

Now who would do a thing like that? Maybe the European government should be looking at Apple and it's iPod. Now thay are preventing other companies from releasing music that plays directly on an iPod.

**ibbo** · 10:03 AM

Minaki,

Days end if you want to practice busines in foreign countries you need to play by their rules. MS has clearly shown it is not doing this.

If I recall correctly Ipods can quite easily hook up to your computer or OS (of any choice) quite easily via USB.

MS on the other hand have not released an API to show exactly how handshaking goes on in WIndows which in esseance has closed all other software suppliers out of MS money maiking for they cannot and do not know how to handshake with MS properly. (sounds like good strategy from MS).

This is the drive behind the EU's case and not the release of source code wich it appears the MS propoganda experts have fed into the courts to keep it dragging on.

I suspect you will be running linux and mono in future. (speculation of course). Should MS decide to take on the EU. Certainly an intersting scenario.

Now you cannot stop people wanting to use MS windows, but I do beleive Europe is pushing for it to be dropped.

I.E

http://europa.eu.int/idabc/en/document/3146/360

Not as far away as expected. But if I read between the lines here correctly their is already an very big anti MS movement in the EU. Would that be the EU been a pain or is it in direct opposition to MS flexing its muscles where they shouldn't be?

And to be a conspiracy theorist.

Bill certainly stepped down at a good moment.

Ibbo