Microsoft Facing EU Antitrust Probe for Office
Here's another one for Microsoft to add to its seemingly never-ending list of EU antitrust probes: Word and Excel.
Bloomberg this week reports that Microsoft is in talks with European Union antitrust officials regarding Word and Excel in addition to the high profile case surrounding the Redmond company's Internet Explorer web browser. Bloomberg cites four sources, who all declined to be identified because the talks are confidential, as saying Microsoft is in preliminary talks to settle two additional probes before EU Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes leaves office. The sources went on to say that any agreement would have to resolve a case over IE as well as a separate investigation into word processing and spreadsheet software.
Microsoft has already racked over $2 billion in antitrust fines from the European Union and, while we've been hearing all about the IE probe for months now, details on the probe into the Office software are a little hazy. Bloomberg sources say that the EU is investigating complaints that Microsoft doesn’t provide formatting and other information to allow rival products to work with Microsoft Office software but neither Microsoft nor the EU would comment on the report.
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All I am saying is careful with the EU. Once Microsoft is done who will they go after next?
Are dictionary companies and graphic calculator companies complaining now?
Are dictionary companies and graphic calculator companies complaining now?
All I am saying is careful with the EU. Once Microsoft is done who will they go after next?
I havent looked to confirm this myself, but I think comments for articles like are all also contained in the forums section. You can edit your comment in the forum section.
MS should not sell Office in the EU. Split it up and sell each component independently and charge for it... Word $100, Excel $100, Power Point $100, Outlook $100... and don't discount a package because that is why they are in trouble. Let's see if EU customers go up in arms over that.
Like I said, they'd be begging for Microsoft to come back. Microsoft just needs to show them who's "the boss" first.
No offense, but if you find an application like MS Word hard to use then maybe you should get a Mac.
So the question is this - should software companies have the right to create saved files that are cannot be used in rival products? There are merits to both sides of the argument.
My personal view: allow proprietary formats but require all products to include an option to open/save in an open or standards format, with the requirement that an open format copy is always saved. Optionally, allow a manufacturer to include with their software and distribute free over the web a conversion tool instead of the built in option.
I feel this would benefit the consumer the most, as well as clearly define who is the owner of the user-generated content within the software. If I write a text in a *.docx format, then later decide I wish to use a different piece of software to continue with writing that text, I (as owner of that content) should have the right to access it via that system.
However, I understand that the developer should have a right to have their own trade secrets in format design. Thus, I should have an standardized open format already saved or a converter. This put the burden on the manufacturer to ensure either that I always have a copy or have a method to get a copy of the content I generated.
The strongest advantages of such a system? Companies can keep their proprietary code, consumers don't have to worry about compatibility of their document with what others use (but for "best viewing" the particular software usage would be encouraged), and consumers wouldn't have to worry that 10 years down the line their old format documents won't be able to be open because the product they used is no longer available on the market.
(also the fact that the cases are laughably poor makes me angry).
and I thought we Australians were bad when it came to tall poppy syndrome.
It seems that no matter what a company over there cannot have a trade secret or their own software the way they want to give it to the public.
Now if this is true then the EU should also start going after Apple for Mac OSX which is even more closed source than Windows, being it that MAC OSX will not work on a non Apple built PC.
But knowing the EU, they wont go after Apple unless they become big enough to fine a hefty sum to fill their pockets with. Its why they have yet to fine AMD for trying to give their CPUs away for free or even under cost of production which is, in their own laws, anti-competative measures.
But then again Germany has a FAB from AMD and the EU just bought 75K AMD based PCs. So go figure. Next we will hear about the EU outfitting their media and design rooms with Macs.
It just seems that they want the money and don't care about what will happen to the EU people. Windows 7 will not have IE and there will be no "Upgrade" version so the EU consumers will now have to pay full price if they want Windows 7 instead of a much better discounted price. They will also probably have to pay for a web browser just to get a free one like IE or Firefox.
If this goes the same way then the EU people will have a Windows 8 with no WMP, Movie maker, Wordpad, Notepad, Paint or even Calculator. And in all probability no games. Just a blank, firewall free and app free OS probably looking like DOS 6.11.