EU Ends Microsoft Antitrust Probe; Hello Browsers!

Nice work European Union

That's a big load of crap. Could you imagine going to Ford and having to look at a choice screen that also showed you Toyota, Honda, and GM vehicles?

Anti-trust is one thing, but forcing a company to pitch other companies' products to you is over the line. Enough of this EU socialist crap.

I still don't get it....freedom of choice is as easy as downloading and installing the browser you want...I think Europeans must be too mentally chanllenged to be able to click the "next" button on an installer and must have it through a "choice screen" which is more like a "mentally challenged computer user screen". Way to go EU, you just supported people becoming even more challenged in the ways of the computer. Next they will say that you need to have a screen that pops up to select what the person wants for breakfast because they don't know how to use a grill and toaster...what is the world coming to?

Yeah-- Intel, Microsoft, Sun, Etc. Take note the cost of doing business in the EU is unreasonbly high, plus you're gonna get sued like every other year and lose more than you already have doing business in the EU.

How much longer is it worth staying in the EU?

You have to admit that this is to funny.

"If Microsoft were to break its commitments, the European Commission could impose a fine of up to 10 percent of Microsoft's total annual turnover without having to prove any violation of EU antitrust rules."

That alone made me have to say nice work. Only in EU this is possible!

This is stupid.

Next thing you know, MS will be paying for each browser installed on thier OS aside from IE.

MS pays 5M to google for 500,000 users installing google browsers on Windows 7. GO EU

I cant believe Microsoft agreed to this.....

Let me get this straight. If in 5 years, the dominant browser is still IE, does that mean they will go after MS again? It seems to me that they expect an even distribution of market share now.

If that is the case, then they are stupid. People do not care how many different 'brands' of the same product that is offered. They want to stick with what is 'best'. That is, what is most popular, stable, secure, and what they know! If they think that the average consumer will start experimenting with browsers, they are dead wrong.

When it comes to PCs, Non-Techy people do not want such choices. They want just internet. They do not care how they get there, as long as they do.

I personally use Firefox.

EU is stupid. It's not anticompetitive. They make the damn OS. Windows explorer is basically internet explorer. What's the matter with them lazy asses?

At last Europeans are free to choose what browser they use..........wait as sec

Um...i think most people who don't know enough about computers to choose something other than IE will just choose IE because its what their familiar with...

Microsoft should have included no browser XD

European Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes said: "it felt good sticking it to the americans that make it happen."

...... Well i guess the Euro trash has to make their money somehow.

Internet Explorer is both a browser and a FTP client, how many alternative browsers are also a FTP client?

I don't see how this really solves anything. The problem is that when Microsoft started offering a competitive browser for free with it's OS, then none of the other browser makers (like Netscape) had a chance of staying in business. The average joe isn't going to pay $50 for Netscape Communicator when Internet Explorer "gits me on thu internet just fine".

The only way to really make this fair is if Microsoft charged for Internet Explorer separately so competitors could offer their products at the same price. Of course, this would never happen since everyone is already used to getting it for free. I don't see how Mozilla stays in business.

As a professional web developer I can say all IE versions are horrible (8 is almost ok) and cost a ton of money to my company to support them. In Firefox, Chrome, Safari and even in Opera, pretty much everything just works as specified. No hacks needed. Less IE = less headache.

Like Americans do starting wars for oil?

AOL, Maxthon, K-Meleon, Flock, Avant Browser, Sleipnir, Slim Browser??? are you kiddin' me?

Does this mean when the Chrome OS come out they will have to provide a list of other browsers to use on install? What about Apple, will they not have to provide ways to disable Safari and replace it with a competitors product. I don't think so.

I've never even heard of half of those browsers, and I'm a geek. Why are they giving people who don't know any better choice of sub-standard browsers?

I think we are losing money on that escapade.

This is still as completely illogical as it was when I first read it. Now I can already imagine all the support calls going directly to Microsoft in Europe about how they chose this thing called "something aout Melons (K-Meleon)" because they "didn't know what to choose and just wanted to use the internet" and nothing works like they want it to nor can they find out how to add favorites or check their e-mail; I'm sure Microsoft is equally as thrilled.

How completely retarded.

This just in:

Volkswagen forced to give users a choice between Mercedes and BMW engines when ordering their vehicles!

[citation]Windows users will be able to pick between Opera, Chrome, Safari, Firefox, AOL, Maxthon, K-Meleon, Flock, Avant Browser, Sleipnir, Slim Browser and Internet Explorer[/citation]

Ok lets say i am an european with absolutely no computer knowledge. I want to connect to the internet that everybody's talking about. I go buy a laptop, power it up, and it asks me to choose one of the 12 "things"? I click one. Eh!

I think everyone here would agree that in that list only firefox, chrome, ie or opera is a viable option. What are the chances of i select one of those? 1/3. Good job!

Apart from that, if i buy a mac, do i get that choice screen?

This is BS. How do I get my web browser listed? I mean I only hold .0000000000000000000000000000001% market share right now, but it's still not fair that my browser gets no advertisement. Anyone know who I need to sue? I just figured I would hop on the band wagon of making money off of other peoples work.

Netscape died because it was worse than IE. That's no fault to microsoft, if your product is decent people will use it. I'm sure Firefox would have much greater market share right now if it was out during the Netscape days. You need to look no further than Google to see this concept.

It would be one thing if Microsoft was paying company's to push their product, that's anti-competitive. But I fail to see how it's a bad thing when Microsoft gives consumers more for less (bundling a Web Browser, wordpad, *gasp* calculator).

, Windows 7 use is now at six percent of the entire world market. Great now watch the EU try to call that a violation of EU antitrust rules.

if this is the case then i better see IE as a choice to install on Mac computers, because if psystar has to stop their sales for infringing on the lisence agreement then the EU is stepping over their bounds and should fairly aproach Mac with the same thing

Everyone is pissed at this but everyone cries about Explorer. Make up your damn minds.

I think it's two different things. People aren't pissed about the possibility of IE losing market share, as you said many people dislike IE. People are pissed that a company has lost it's right to do what it want's with it's own product and is being forced to advertise for their competition.

I don't like IE myself, I use firefox. But I still think this is wrong. Like I said it would be an entirely different story if Microsoft was paying other companies to push their product instead of their competitions but as far as I know this is not the case.

Wait! How is it that I never knew I didn't have a choice to use a browser other than IE? I want to sue MS for not pointing out to me that I have to use their browser and that I was never allowed to use Netscape and then Firefox as I've always done.

Seriously though. Does this mean that Microsoft is responsible financially for maintaining uptodate versions of those non-MS browsers on it's media? What will happen when new browsers are release? Will MS have to include those as well... When will it stop? What about a notepad replacement or a filesystem replacement or a defragmenter or, or, or.

This is like what's happening with Intel. A small company makes it big and everyone wants a piece of them to the point that the government realizes it can also make money (fines) off that big company so it sues "in the name of" the smaller company. Only those fines don't go to the smaller companies, they go to the government's coffers.

The lesson to be learned it that you don't let your company get TOO big.

I might contact the EU because when I purchased my used car the dealer has put Havoline oil in it. I wanted Mobil 1. I had no choice.

Sure, they both work and allow my car to function, but what the hell??