If it's so illegal and that's what those cases where really about, why is Microsoft still following exactly the same practise and why has both the US and EU allowed this wholesale flouting of the law for nearly 20 years? Why arn't Microsoft being made to change this version (or future versions) of Vista to give a bare minimum of applications instead of increasing the basic applications and tools?
-They have many times and its all still catching up with them, they've only just got finished on media player. They are so powerful they simply pay the fines. Why are other companies (Apple, Mandiva, Redhat, Sun) allowed to do exactly the same thing with no sanction?
-Once again, (A) they're not market leaders, but a blip on the radar. and (B)All the software is written by others. As far as I understand the main problem in the EU was their non-disclosure about the technologies they had either bought or created and refused to give this information to 3rd parties (quite understandable really). I've always felt that the DoJ and EU cases where much more about trying to make political capital then solving real problems.
So forcibly removing billions of dollars of revenue from an entire collection of markets is not a real problem? How has the consumer benefitted from these actions?
-Not convenience, choice of better software mabe? Hasn't it in fact just cost a huge amount of money that we have to pay in taxes and increased prices?
-No MS have to pay those legal fees. If Microsoft really were in the wrong what real changes have been made, will Bill be spending his autumn years in a prison cell? I think not.
No, they will just keep fining them. If your best alternative to Windows is Windows how bad can it really be?
No, if they concentrated less on the rendering and more on the brickwork it would be a better operating system. Third, what program is doing this app selection / downloading? What if I don't like it? Can I download a different application downloader to replace it if I want? OH NO! Do you mean that MS has a monopoly on application downloaders!?!?! SUE SUE SUE!
Not really as its going back to the "essential tool" needed to maintain the system.Anyway, im off to the pub.