Comments on: EU report takes Microsoft to task

A 300-page report sheds new light on a corporate culture and business practices that led regulators to sanction the company last month for anticompetitive practices.

[Dr Dude]

Well, well....now the TRUTH about M$

What will all those Microsoft HACKS (like Thurott and the like)
have to say now that it's evident that Windows really does suck
and you have all been duped by the big monopoly?

Bring out the Kool-Aid (bondi blue).

Big Blue Cult Member?

I have not been brain washed by the Big Blue Cult Association so here is a differnet perspective.

Is it against the law to sell a new car with a radio at no charge? Do you have to keep the factory radio? Can you install a second radio? Can you replace the factory radio completely?

Name one thing, man made, that is perfect and lasts forever.

Dupped??? Get over it dude........

[unknown unknown]

You're full of it

If anything this report shows just what a socialist nightmare the EU really is. They're intent on bringing everyone down to the lowest common denominator. Perhaps it's not Microsoft that sucks, but companies like Real Media and Sun Microsystems who want to use the courts to compete rather than making a better product (I've used Solaris, and it's trash). People started ditching Real Player when it was found that it was spyware. Not mention the way the installation program was designed to hide opt-in for ads etc so if the user didn't carefully read and check every button they'd get a ton of stuff they don't want. If you want people to use your product you can't treat them the way Real has/is. I have WMP on my system but that didn't stop me from download Apple's QuickTime (the standalone version no the one that comes with iTMS) and Winamp. I know several people who have done the samething.

Solaris trash?

My Solaris machine has *never* crashed in over 4 years. My Windows machine crashes at least once a week (and more often than not, more than that). I am running XP Pro, but have had the same fundamental reliability problem with W2k and NT on a variety of different hardware. Even the free Linux OS is considerably more reliable (one or two crashes per year) than Windows.

You may have used Solaris, but you have absolutely no clue what you are talking about.


fh

[Scrowshaw]

Another joke of a lawsuit.

Lets fine microsoft 500 million dollars because some people dont know how to install Media Player. You can uninstall it - get over it. And you dont even have to install it. Sure Internet Explorer is more embedded - but who wants to use Netscape anyway - the poor cousin of the browser world. Again, if i wanted to use it, i would install it.

There has always been a CD player in Windows, since way back in the 3.1 days. The fact this is coming up now is because no competitors can make an acceptable program. Real player, WinAmp and the rest are riddled with spyware. And if i did want to use something else i would download it.

Lets all punish microsoft for having good software, that is easy to use.

As for it being unreliable - maybe it is the user not the software. i have been using XP for between a year and 18months, and never had a problem. I work in the IT dept and load more crap software on my machine for testing purposes, than most people could name.

Next thing we know - there will be complaints about Office - after all Microsoft has bundled word, excel powerpoint, outlook and Access all together.

[Steven N]

Why should office be bundled???

Hej,

If all I need is a word processor, then indeed why should I pay for Excell, Powerpoint and all that other stuff. If I go to a shop to get a hammer, I don't expect that I have to buy a saw and glue along with it. Same goes for Windows, if I don't need IE, media player, movie maker, MS JVM, ... Why paying for it. Sure MS says it's for free, but those apps also need development, the guys that write the stuff also need to be paid. So it IS included in the price I have to pay for the bloated XP I got pre-installed on the PC I bought (I could even choose not to have it at all)

And for the spy/ad-ware in other apps, that is just what this is all about. MS monopolises the market in such a way that the only way for companies to make a living is to do this.
Winamp also needs to be developed, the people that develop it also need to get paid. But if they cannot charge for their product because MS offers a similar tool for free, then adware is perhaps the only way to go for them.
As a result of that the user is unhappy, because he is installing adware, so he ditches the software, as you did with Realplayer, so no business for the company.

And M$ wins again...