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Microsoft and the European Commission have settled their differences over the choice of Web browsers in Windows.
European Commissioner for Competition Policy Neelie Kroes on Wednesday formally announced a resolution to the Internet Explorer antitrust case against Microsoft. As part of the settlement, Windows PCs sold in the European Economic Area will now present users with a Choice Screen, allowing them to install alternative browsers beyond Internet Explorer.
The Choice Screen will offer users the ability to install up to 12 of the most widely used Web browsers that run under Windows. The choices will include the more widely known browsers, such as IE, Apple’s Safari, Google’s Chrome, Mozilla’s Firefox, Opera, and AOL’s browser, and lesser-known products including Maxthon, K-Meleon, Flock, Avant Browser, Sleipnir, and Slim Browser.
Where is the MS we know? Why they didn’t simply remove any web browser from the Windows OS sold in EU?
I don’t like either MS or their IE but one must fight EU lunatics before their control-disease spreads further… What’s next? Requiring Mac and Linux to offer various browsers built-in too?
Why the hell is MS letting themselves be pushed around by these idiots?
If Firefox can get over 20% market share in under 5 years, then its clear that alternative browsers CAN compete with IE.
The fact that Opera is only used by less than 1% of web users just shows that it sucks, NOT that microsoft has a monopoly on the browser.
Remember Windows ‘n’ edition? The version that the EU forced them to sell which had windows media player removed because bitch no-hope companies like Reel complained that nobody wanted to use their player a they got on from MS for free.
I doubt anyone in the EU responsible for the ‘n’ edition windows had ever used reel player for more than 20 seconds before trying to uninstalling it immediately.
What, no Lynx?
And why Microsoft only? Why not Apple and all Linux distributions, which also bundle a browser with the operating system? Ridiculous!
Seems far to late for it to matter anymore. This suit was brought up back in the windows 98 era when IE was literally the GUTS of the OS, and was difficult to separate. Plus rumors that Windows 9x would slow down Netscape on purpose to make IE seem better.
And so we’ve been though at least what, five different versions of windows since then? Who fucking cares anymore? Especially now with OS X getting greater market share running Safari. More people using their phones to get on the web. Why isn’t the EU getting on Apple’s case for only having Safari preinstalled. Or Linux distros for having FireFox or Konqueror preinstalled?
#2 Zybch
You mean Real as in Realplayer? Real sucked ASS. It was the epitome of “buffering… buffering.. buffering..” back in the dialup days. I think they are still around but fortunately no one uses their codec anymore for streaming videos. THANK GOD.
Thought Apple’s Safari was suppose to be first.
Anybody else remember The Clinton DoJ’s Microsoft monopoly suit that was immediately trashed by the Bushovics? Obama might consider it’s return.
Not listed alphabetically?!!
*SUE*
#5 yeah, real-freaking-player. The ONLY reason I ever used it was to let me watch bootleg Futurama episodes when the net was young.
My disgust for that PoS player and the spyware/junkware it came with probably accounts for my misspelling of the company’s name.
Brought to you by the E.U. – The same people who decided how much your bananas can curve.
Now that’s some mighty fine governance.
I just use Real Alternative: http://codecguide.com/download_real.htm Real player was just too crappy and insisted on loading a system tray icon. Anymore I use VLC. It opens everything except Real format, I think.
On another note, I think Microsoft should have just made a European version of Windows without a browser, then listen to all the bellyaching because there is now no Internet. When everyone has to FTP a browser to get on the web, then the EU would look like a bunch of jerks.
I want IE on a new computer. I use it to download Firefox.
Flock ??