Microsoft EC trouble...

interesting article from beardingtheweasel.com

Microsoft market a product called 'Windows' which consists of an operating system and a media player. The OS and the player are in the same package but the purchaser is under no obligation to use the player supplied; other similar products are available from other suppliers, and he can easily buy these if he prefers.The European Commission has ordered Microsoft to remove the media player from Windows and to make details of the interface available to other media player manufacturers. They argue that by including their own player, Microsoft are deliberately squeezing out competition, and making it unnecessary for purchasers to go elsewhere.Kraft Foods market a snack-food called 'Dairylea Dunkers' which consists of a tub of cheese dip and a number of breadsticks. The dip and the sticks are in the same package, but the purchaser is under no obligation to use the sticks supplied; other similar products are available from other suppliers, and he can easily buy these if he prefers.The European Commission has ordered Kraft to remove the breadsticks from Dairylea Dunkers and to make details of the recipe available to other breadstick manufacturers. They argue that by including their own sticks, Kraft are deliberately squeezing out competition, and making it unnecessary for purchasers to go elsewhere.Which of these four paragraphs is untrue?Microsoft have taken their case to the the EU court in Luxembourg.The EC claims that if Windows Media Player is the only product of its type on the market, Microsoft will have little incentive to upgrade and improve it, and there will be no other companies offering innovations.(Note the little twist in there; if WMP is the only option, there will be no other options. Also, why does the EC feel the need to burden Microsoft with an incentive to improve?)Of course, Windows Media Player is not the only product of its type on the market; there is also RealPlayer, a product of RealNetworks, sales of which have fallen drastically since Microsoft included Media Player with Windows. This is coincidentally around the time that Apple's i-Tunes appeared on the market. Other players are also available.Apple and Unix operating systems are also shipped with media players, but no action is to be taken against them.Microsoft even offered to include three rival products in Windows, but the EC rejected the proposal.The situation began in 1998 when Sun Microsystems complained that Microsoft had refused to provide the necessary interface information for Sun to be able to compete with them. Other companies were in the same position. Microsoft, apparently, should have some obligation to assist its competitors.Coincidentally, a site visited during research for this piece carried an advertisement for Hewlett-Packard, whose engine management software is included in BMW's cars. No option to have Dell instead?The EC says 'Effective competition is crucial to an open market economy. The European Commission has wide powers to make sure [businesses] stick to European Union rules on fair trade in goods and services.'One of us is failing to understand the words 'open market economy', and ceterum censeo Unionem Europaeam esse delandam.