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Uhu_Fledermaus

On 23 March 2004 the European Commission adopted a decision finding that Microsoft had infringed Article 82 of the EC Treaty by abusing its dominant position by engaging in two separate types of conduct. The Commission also imposed a fine of more than EUR 497 million on Microsoft.
The first type of conduct found to constitute an abuse consisted in Microsoftâ€™s refusal to supply its competitors with â€˜interoperability informationâ€™ and to authorise them to use that information to develop and distribute products competing with its own products on the work group server operating system market, between October 1998 and the date of adoption of the decision. By way of remedy, the Commission required Microsoft to disclose the â€˜specificationsâ€™ of its client/server and server/server communication protocols to any undertaking wishing to develop and distribute work group server operating systems.
The second type of conduct to which the Commission took exception was the tying of Windows Media Player with the Windows PC operating system. The Commission considered that that practice affected competition on the media player market. By way of remedy, the Commission required Microsoft to offer for sale a version of Windows without Windows Media Player.
In order to assist the Commission in monitoring Microsoftâ€™s compliance with the decision, the decision provided for a monitoring trustee to be appointed by the Commission from a list of persons drawn up by Microsoft. The monitoring trusteeâ€™s primary responsibility would be to issue opinions, upon application by a third party or by the Commission, or on his own motion, on whether Microsoft was complying with the decision and on any issue that might be of interest with respect to the enforcement of the decision. He was to have access to Microsoftâ€™s assistance, information, documents, premises and employees and to the source code of the relevant Microsoft products. All the costs associated with the monitoring trustee, including his remuneration, were to be borne by Microsoft.

you can read the complete transcript here

497 x1,32 = 656 million US $

So now you know why the prices will go up again for the MS products

Shades

I think they should be forced to offer for sale a version of Windows which does not incorporate "Minesweeper" as well.

Shadow_Bshwackr

LOL Shades and yep, it sounds ridicules to me too. After all, it's MS' OS and if they want to include extra crap in it that they happen to own, I see no problem with that. I would like to see a way to turn on or off those 'options' on install, but it's not that big of deal and Media Player works for most formats. Wink

RAF92_Moser

Tis' Bull&%^$.

Microsoft should be free to sell whatever it wants. Free enterprise?

Uhu_Fledermaus

it all trickles down to some overzealous penpushers that want to be "important" and probably have some link with a "competitor" that couldn't stand beeing 2nd or 3rd for that matter.
but at the end of the day, we, the consumers pay the price for it, if we like it or not.

and to be honest that really pisses me off

XcalibeR · ***Power User*** Offline Joined: Mar 11, 2005 Posts: 358

I don't know if any of you have read HardOCP (mind out of the gutter Shades, it's a computer hardware review site...), but I personally agree with their views of the EU v. MS battle. MS should come out and say, "ok, if you don't want our product, we won't offer it, buy something else." Then promptly pull all copies from the shelves in Europe, as well as stopping all support for current users in Europe. We'll see how long it'll take before the EU comes back on their hands and knees

RAF92_Moser

Wow, really, your so right XCaliber.

JG300-Stoopy

The second type of conduct to which the Commission took exception was the tying of Windows Media Player with the Windows PC operating system. The Commission considered that that practice affected competition on the media player market.

Man I hesitate to mention it but my spankin'-new Creative Labs Soundblaster card came with a buncha software, which includes a really neato (free) media-player-thingy that does just about everything. Come to think about it, so did myMP3 player....and my kid's iPod came yet another one too. So although I don't get what this big market is for music and video players when they're like, bein' handed out for free, I sure wouldn't want word gettin' out lest some of us get sued for bein' accomplices in the matter.... Wink

Maybe whatever company thinks they're gonna make a killing by becoming a competitor in the freeware media player market oughta be sued for making poor business decisions.....but these days we tend to protect those who decide not to think logically. Kind of a reverse "Natural Order of Selection"?

Shades

Gutter?
Me?

Some of us 'EUROpeans' don't understand Europe or the EU.
Thass why we won't join.
I mean, at one time they wanted to instigate a rule that would only allow the import of STRAIGHT bananas and oranges had to be a certain size, no more no less!

And they say the English are mad!
*sigh*

JG300-Stoopy

- Shades

I mean, at one time they wanted to instigate a rule that would only allow the import of STRAIGHT bananas and oranges had to be a certain size, no more no less!

Seriously???

JG300-Stoopy

Good gravy, Shades.....seems you weren't just making that up!

www.telegraph.co.uk/op...do2902.xml

(fun reading, at least!

)

JG300-Ascout

- JG300-Stoopy

Good gravy, Shades.....seems you weren't just making that up!

www.telegraph.co.uk/op...do2902.xml

(fun reading, at least! )

An excellent read!...entertaining AND informative...with many a memorable quote for future reference! Mr. Green

(mrgreen is not for the banana) Wink

Shades

There's loads of other even dafter edicts (I can't remember any now).
Every six months or so we get a new one we all have a good giggle about.
Square tomato's was one suggestion ("easier to pack and therefore more economical on transport costs").
I mean.., GOOD GRIEF!

But, if you're a Brit' and meeting a European, sooner or later, the conversation usually turns to, "So tell me; we Europeans find it hard to understand why you British do not wish to join the EU or our wonderous monetary system. Please can you try and explain why you are so opposed to it?"

I always try to come up with different innovative and interesting replies each time.

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