

Google blames Microsoft for allegations







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By BZDTemp on 2/25/2010 3:27:58 PM , Rating: 2
I'm not sure I can follow you logic. No special rules was setup and had Intel, Microsoft and others followed the normal rules then there would have be no case for the EU to investigate and certainly no fines would have been set.

Since they did not follow the rules naturally there were fines. And to help ensure a fair solution form here on a special rule was then created enforcing MS to offer the choice of browser. What would have been a better solution? Surely telling Microsoft to stop being bad and then neither fine or set up special rules would have made Microsoft change their ways.

In a perfect world common sense would prevail and rules would only be needed as guidelines to help specify what is right and wrong. However just as with traffic laws prohibiting speeding which are pretty ineffective if not policed and backed up by a system of penalties, telling businesses to play fair only works if there is a way to handle those which break the rules.

I guess one could argue that monopolies eventually die because they get to clumsy and eventually someone clever comes a long with a better idea. However that theory only holds up as long as a monopoly "only" uses it market control to exploit that very market. Clearly Microsoft has been doing that else Windows would be a lot cheaper but on the same time they have used their OS monopoly to try and take over in other markets (online, media, internet browsers, office software, development tools...).


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