Another Blast from the Past: MS in Anti-Trust Case in Europe
MarketWatch reports that Microsoft is in trouble in Europe for Internet Explorer. Again. Or is that still? Read the full story here.
Here’s an excerpt:
- “This is an important case to ensure that browsers can compete on the merits,” ECIS spokesman Thomas Vinje said in a statement, “More innovative browser developers need a level playing field.”
- A Microsoft spokesman said in a statement that, “We are committed to conducting our business in full compliance with European law and will respond later this month to the Statement of Objections issued by the European Commission.”
- ECIS’s entry into the European investigation comes as Microsoft is already grappling with new and more determined competition in the Internet browser market.
Frank’s opinion:
To anyone who knew anything about computer operating systems, Microsoft’s claim that it just had to bundle Internet Explorer with Windows 95 because it was integral to the OS was from the git-go so much hooey. They specked out Windows 95. The only rational explanation I have ever seen is that they purposefully made IE integral to the OS so as to kill Netscape.
Which they did.
And, in Europe, that strategy has kept them in court till this day.
Full disclosure: I am a rabid Opera fanboy. I’ve been using it since version 3.x (it’s now at v. 9.64) on Windows and then Linux and Windows machines and, now, also on my cell phone. It’s fast, light, and standards-compliant.
I use it not only for browsing, but also for text newsgroups, IRC, email, and RSS feeds, all there in one convenient place. And its eye candy potential is unparalleled–and I’m a sucker for eye candy.