Microsoft answers EU antitrust charges
We never done nuffink
Microsoft has formally responded to European Commission concerns about bundling of its web browser Internet Explorer with Windows operating systems.
The original complaint was made by Norwegian browser maker Opera. It accused Microsoft of leveraging its desktop monopoly to distribute the browser and of ignoring web standards. Because of its large market share web developers were encouraged to optimise their sites for IE - to the disadvantage of other browser makers which did follow web standards.
The Directorate General for Competition issued a Statement of Objections to Microsoft in January. Its prelimary findings were that linking IE and Windows “harms competition between web browsers, undermines product innovation and ultimately reduces consumer choice”.
Microsoft's next big release - Windows 7 - will come with a toggle to switch off IE8. It also promised that its next browser will do a better job of following web standards.
There's no official line from Microsoft yet, but we'll update when we get it. According to AFP Microsoft has asked the Commission for a hearing into the issue.
The EC and Microsoft have clashed before - over abusing its dominant desktop position and digital rights management. ®
COMMENTS
@ Rob Moss
Agreed, IE is joined at the waist to Windows & Im fairly sure that the option to remove it will never be facilitated.
Sure OSx comes with Safari, but you can remove it if you wish to & there in lies the difference.
Is an internet browser a core OS part?
"Vauxhall have a monopoly on Vauxhall cars, don't see any antitrust cases being brought about that do you? "
This poster is either being deliberately misleading or very trusting. AC@18:38 has it right. It is more like Ford "pre-installing" their CD/Radio, voiding their warranty if its not still there at service time and randomly replacing the one you bought every so often.
Internet Explorer is an application, like every other browser. No other OS is crippled (Core functions won't run properley) by removing it. Why should Windows be any different. MS do force you to use it by default and make its replacement and removal difficult (if not impossible).
Every other desktop supplier says not. You can change what you like. But only MS has mingled its functions in with its core DLLs.
I note most PC makers supply upteen ISP connection options on the hard drive. Anyone of which will hook you up to that ISP. But when its browsers what happens? Well you can have this option but its actually a page which has a link to their (other mfgs.) web site.
Its a monopolist tactic only viable for companies with a dominant market position and the deep pockets that gives them.
To make this truly level MS (and Apple) need to be stopped from the various cross-licensing tricks, a favourite MS tactic which they never seem to get tired of.
what would happen if (say) 4 different browsers were 1 click away from installation? well provided they all did proper uninstalls it might get quite interesting.
Don't comment if you don't know waht an OS actually is
I'm seeing comments along the lines of "Ubuntu came with Firefox" as justification for Microsoft forcing IE on it's Windows OS customers.
a few obvious problems with that strange idea:
1) Microsoft was convicted of being a monopoly, this is the reason for the this whole shebang.
2) Ubuntu is NOT an OS. If you don't understand why, you're not qualified to push opinion as fact.
3) Ubuntu is *free*.
4) Here's a big one - Firefox is made by Mozilla, not the Ubuntu folks (Canonical).So whining about Firefox makes no sense.
Those who mention Apple might have had a point, if it weren't for number 1 in the little list above. As is stands, these folks are just plain lacking in the intelligence dept.
Paris, 'cos she's been in a lot of browsers.
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