Ok, so Microsoft is in a mood of philanthropy, so what? Ok, so Microsoft is really too rich, so what? Does that mean that every Tom & Dick has a right to sue Microsoft & demand compensation, fines, etc. of outrageous amounts? 👿 If they are rich, that doesn’t mean that you get the right to suck them out? 😡
This is what it seems is happening. After reading this news story at Reuters, these are my thoughts, my questions.
The big guys at European Commission seem to be under the delusion that they have become all powerful kings of Europe & all their whims will come true. They’ve ordered Microsoft to strip its Media Player from Windows & ship Windows without it so that makers of rival softwares like Real Player can compete easily. What a load of trash it is. A company is ordered to remove its own software from its own product which is among the best ones available for FREE. That’s simply ridiculous. And if that’s not all, the greedy Commission has ordered Microsoft to change its business practices & has fined it 497 million Euros, which are equal to US$600 million approximately!!!!! How ridiculously greedy can you be? Now this means makers of Softwares can’t give away softwares of their creation with their other products for FREE. If that’s so, then why only Microsoft gets the axe, why not other software makers who include their other softwares with their commercial products for FREE? 😡
Perhaps what the Commission has forgotten is that Windows is not free nor is it open source. Its still a proprietory software & its maker can bundle any software of their make with it, there’s nothing illegal about it. And if their absurd argument is that they want equal & fair competition in this, then why don’t they ask those rivals like RealNetworks to make their software free or to improve their standard & quality. Making nonsense decisions like this doesn’t create better competition.
And the joke is that Computer Makers will decide that whether they want to ship Windows Media Player or other software like Real Player with Windows in their computers. Meaning that you are imposing your whims on the end user. And you call yourself a Democracy!! And you called Microsoft foul for being monopolistic!! What’s this then? Where the user has the say in all this bullshit? Excuse my language but I’m pretty much fired up on this. Ofcourse I don’t live in Europe but then, it can effect other parts of the world too.
All in all, I think that Windows Media Player should continue to ship with Windows. If the user want something else, (s)he can always get it, where’s the problem in that? And you can un-install Windows Media Player if you want, so why all this fuss about it? Microsoft isn’t charging for it & they’ll certainly not reduce the cost of Windows if they give it without the Media Player.
But I don’t think that the Commission will change its decision. After all, its a matter of more than US$600 million in terms fine money from Microsoft & whatever amount they got from the rival software makers. Yes, I think that money changed hands in all this affair whether above the table or below it, otherwise this absurdness wouldn’t have prevailed.