"The European Commission has imposed a EUR 561 million fine on Microsoft for failing to comply with its commitments to offer users a browser choice screen enabling them to easily choose their preferred web browser. In 2009, the Commission had made these commitments legally binding on Microsoft until 2014. In today's decision, the Commission finds that Microsoft failed to roll out the browser choice screen with its Windows 7 Service Pack 1 from May 2011 until July 2012. 15 million Windows users in the EU therefore did not see the choice screen during this period. Microsoft has acknowledged that the choice screen was not displayed during that time." Burn.
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Member since:2006-03-03
The File Explorer is a total mess, I prefer using Total Commander, far better and with plug-in extensions. Microsoft should be fined for embedding such a poor file explorer and not giving the users a choice.
EU resident. I don't understand this sillyness as well, since Microsoft never prevented me to install some other file explorers.
Kochise
Member since:2005-07-24
An operating system is understood, legally, to consist of the following, in part, or grouped together.
1. A layer of software to abstract the hardware (kernel / drivers / HAL / file system).
2. A layer of software to permit application software to interface with the aforementioned software layer (API, libraries).
3. User interfaces to interact with and control 1 & 2.
A file system browser is protected as part of the OS as the file system is part of HAL (#1 above).
An internet browser, on the other hand, does not serve to interface with the HAL or API, though it obviously uses both, it serves to interact with external resources created by third parties. This, by definition, as an application.
Laws apply differently between the two. Microsoft can change their OS all they want, they have no obligation to provide alternative kernels, libraries, or UI. They do, however, have an obligation to not use their OS dominance to gain or enforce and advantage for any of their other products which fit the definition of application.
--The loon
Member since:2005-06-29
Member since:2006-07-14
Member since:2005-07-06
That's actually not the case everywhere - IIRC, at least in one Nordic country. There escaping from jail is seen as a natural human need, hence carries no additional penalties itself (as long as the escape didn't involve any other crime!).
Member since:2008-06-02
While it's not at the EC level, it looks like France and Germany are hard at work trying to find ways to extort money from Google, in exchange for granting them the "privilege" of indexing & promoting news media from those countries:
http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2013/03/germany-wants-google-to-...
http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2012/10/google-threatens-to-cut-...
Fortunately, Google doesn't seem to have any patience for that BS and has said that if the relevant laws go through, then they will simply stop indexing those sites... Which of course resulted in an orgy of faux-shock & self-entitled whining from French politicians, who were apparently stupid & arrogant enough to believe that Google would bend over and take it.
Member since:2011-01-28
BallmerKnowsBest,
I'm not terribly familiar with those laws, but from the sources I see (including yours) everyone is allowed to display excerpts, such as those displayed by search engines today. It's just longer pieces that would need to be licensed for republication.
I can understand why google opposes it, but it still isn't their content to do with as they please. If the copyright owner wants to license it to google, then google should pay or forfeit publishing rights. I am aware that google cannot pay them for their content without setting into motion events that would undermine google's principal business model of using everyone else's data for free. Still unless I'm missing something it's hard for me to side with the pro-google agenda. Publishing rights beyond excerpts should lie with the content creator.
So, the Xbox One disaster continues. Microsoft's policy for dealing with the used games market has reportedly leaked - and it's a clear and direct attack to destroy the used games market. Prices for used games will be set at the retail value of a new game, and retailers have to hook into Microsoft's computer systems and comply with Microsoft's terms and conditions.At an event earlier today, Microsoft unveiled the next Xbox - the third model, but confusingly named Xbox One. The big focus was TV, integrated Kinect, and all the other stuff we all expected to be forced down our throats. I think it took them 25 minutes to actually come to what should be the core of the story: gaming. Nothing groundbreaking in the gaming department, except for how Microsoft intends to handle the used games market and borrowing games from friends: pay up, buddy!
The day has finally come! Jolla has finally announced the launch device for its Sailfish operating system - and by god this is a looker. It's decidedly different from other phones out there, but it has good specifications and carries a relatively reasonably price tag - EUR 399, and it's up for pre-order today, shipping in the fourth quarter of this year.
Why does Google get so much credit in the technology industry? Why, despite the company's many obvious failings, do many geeks and enthusiasts still hold a somewhat positive view on the all-knowing technology giant? A specific talk at Google I/O this week provides the answer.
OSNews is a sponsor of this year's O'Reilly OSCON in Portland, Oregon, USA. A lucky OSNews reader will win a free three-day pass, including two tutorials days. To win the pass, post a comment on this story saying something about Open Source Software or OSCON. We'll pick a winner at random next week. If you don't have an OSNews account, you may email us your entry. Part of the conference is the 9th annual Open Source Awards, and today the 16th is the deadline for nominations. If you'd like to nominate an outstanding open source contributor, do it here. Read on for more information about OSCON. Update: The 20% discount code for OSNews readers is "OSN."
"Windows is indeed slower than other operating systems in many scenarios, and the gap is worsening." That's one way to start an insider explanation of why Windows' performance isn't up to snuff. Written by someone who actually contributes code to the Windows NT kernel, the comment on Hacker News, later deleted but reposted with permission on Marc Bevand's blog, paints a very dreary picture of the state of Windows development. The root issue? Think of how Linux is developed, and you'll know the answer.
This is one of those news items that's fun to write, fun to read, fun to comment on, and where no one will be able to say anything unkind. It's all just one big ball of awesome fluffiness. TuneTracker, the BeOS radio automation software, has just released something very special: TuneTracker System 5, the first version designed entirely and specifically for Haiku. In fact, it actually includes Haiku in the software package. Better yet, TuneTracker also unveiled several system-in-a-box products - which have Haiku and TuneTracker pre-installed.
Exactly twenty years ago, a document was published that played a huge role in establishing the web as we know it today. Twenty years later, and this simple and straightforward document is proof of an irrefutable fact: while closed technologies can change markets, open technologies can change the world.Oh multitasking. That staple of computing that got thrown out the window with many modern smartphones. We got some rudimentary thing in its place - but even as multitasking on phone and tablets improves, its user-visible side remains cumbersome. Windows 8 has a neat implementation, and now it's time Android follows in it footsteps.They're here! Whether that excites you or not remains to be seen, but the Galaxy S4, which will most likely become the best selling Android smartphone of the year by a huge margin, has been reviewed by all the major sites, and there's lots of interesting conclusions in there - although I think most of you will get the gist.
Member since:
2012-11-05
Microsoft has a monopoly! We need the government to come in and force them to give users other options!
They didn't, yet they still lost their top browser spot due to actual competition? That can't be right! The people NEED us to fine large companies hundreds of millions of dollars... IT's for their own good! Now quick, what other American company can we 'protect' our people from?