EU Fines Microsoft $730m Over Browser Compliance

[Kouen Hasuki]

Source here

I did find the article rather interesting more into the fact that Microsoft seems to be a scapegoat in all of this.

Due to the fact that they Package there browser with there OS and other Browser makers whined a lot EU forced MS to add a "Browser Choice" pop up which worked in patching from an older build of windows 7 but later retail builds didnt have the said pop up and thats why there being "Punished"

They should have fixed that I am not gonna deny but the article did raise a point.

Why are other leading companys in a market not being also held to the same standard with browsers?

Apple with iOS never give you a browser popup and they just package with Safari
Google with Android also never gives you a popup and just package with Chrome

Why is this? I mean the EU fine that MS was given is peanuts to em but it does open the question of why these 2 companys leading in the Tablet and Smartphone industries are not being held as accountable as the leading Computer software company is.

I think the EU needs to get there head out of there arse and make this ruling universal across all devices capable of external browser install capability, Just seems wrong to have rules for one and not for the rest

What's your take on it?

 

[Originality]

Android package chrome? I had to download that myself on each of my android phones...

 

[Kouen Hasuki]

Android package chrome? I had to download that myself on each of my android phones...

every one my gf has had came with it pre loaded

 

[Qtis]

Apple was (and still is) a minor player in the OS scheme for computers. It's not about "MS is bad and won't let us play", but instead something along the lines of getting a fair competition. I can't think of a good reference for this, but I'll go with the following: Car maker chooses you radio station and doesn't offer any help in switching the station.

Then again, if they have made an agreement with a penalty if it's done according to it, they have to give the fine. Otherwise it would wreck the whole legal system, when fines depend on the situation, not if the agreement was broken. I'd imagine similar events happening for other devices too, since iOS and especially Android have a huge market share both globally and in the EU.

Anti-monopoly legislation and terms are kinda hard to understand in layman's terms and point of view.

 

[Issac]

I actually find this stupid. Should they be fined for including notepad, and not a pop up letting the user download notepad++ or some other random text editor? MS makes an OS. MS makes a browser. MS bundles their own browser with their own OS. Big deal? The browser doesn't block the download sites of other browsers.

 

[FireGrey]

Cause a pop up is gonna make stupid users stop using Internet Explorer.

 

[Arras]

Cause a pop up is gonna make stupid users stop using Internet Explorer.

If anything is gonna stop people from using Internet Explorer it's those ads on Google that are like "INSTALL CHROME FOR FASTER INTERNETZ NAO".

 

[McHaggis]

Android doesn't package Chrome. It packages a chromium based browser which is open-source and is no benefit to Google whatsoever.

I actually emailed an EU representative from a while back regarding the anti-competition laws and why they're so harsh on Microsoft but not so much other companies (consumer rights is always something I like to speak up about). The fact of the matter is that Apple are much worse than Microsoft have ever been. They continuously shun interoperability in favour of profitability and keep their consumers on a tight leash―there is no company I can think of that are more anti-competitive than Apple.

In my email I called attention to the fact that all of their reasons for fining Microsoft could be applied to Apple. This is (part of) the reply I got:

For Apple's behaviour to constitute a violation of European competition law, a range of factual, legal and economic elements have to be assessed. It would require, inter alia, that Apple holds a dominant position on the relevant markets. The relevant markets at issue are still relatively new and evolving. At this stage, it is not clear that Apple has attained a dominant position.

So there you have it. Basically, they're saying they'll only do something about it when the damage has already been done.

 

[Rydian]

Actually it's because Microsoft is so large. Nobody cares to put a check on Apple's behavior because they're not dominant.

 

[DinohScene]

Personally, I can't care less.

On every OS I always install Opera.
Regardless of what it comes with.

 

[Kouen Hasuki]

Actually it's because Microsoft is so large. Nobody cares to put a check on Apple's behavior because they're not dominant.

I personally think someone needs to keep apple in check too there getting a bit too big for there boots and this is coming from a happy iPhone user

 

[Originality]

I personally think someone needs to keep apple in check too there getting a bit too big for there boots and this is coming from a happy iPhone user

They've been like that for a while. Just look at how they're treating the iPad 5 situation.

 

[Rizsparky]

Windows should come with a client asking the user which browser they would like to download on first boot, no pre-installed browser. But that fine is humongous.. holy shit.

 

[tbgtbg]

Hey man, my 3DS didn't give me a choice of another browser, why doesn't the stupid EU fine Nintendo.