European regulators notified Microsoft it believes the software giant is in violation of the region's antitrust laws by bundling its Internet Explorer browser in Windows, the company said Friday.

The European Commission, which received a complaint in 2007 from rival browser developer Opera that Microsoft was using its market dominance in bundling IE into the Windows operating system, opened its investigation into the tying issue last January.

According to a statement issued by the European Commission:

The evidence gathered during the investigation leads the Commission to believe that the tying of Internet Explorer with Windows, which makes Internet Explorer available on 90 percent of the world's PCs, distorts competition on the merits between competing web browsers insofar as it provides Internet Explorer with an artificial distribution advantage which other web browsers are unable to match.

The Commission is concerned that through the tying, Microsoft shields Internet Explorer from head to head competition with other browsers which is detrimental to the pace of product innovation and to the quality of products which consumers ultimately obtain.

In addition, the Commission is concerned that the ubiquity of Internet Explorer creates artificial incentives for content providers and software developers to design websites or software primarily for Internet Explorer which ultimately risks undermining competition and innovation in the provision of services to consumers.

I personally think this is absolutely the most stupidest idea I have ever heard.

First of all Windows will not run without explorer go kill explorer.exe and tell me your results

Second of all a browser is needed to download another browser.

Third of all even if oems bundled a browser what happens if a user accidentally uninstalls it or a virus destroys files for the browser.

EU did the same with WMP so it isn't stupid.

Explorer.exe isn't the same as iexplorer.exe. Explorer manages files, iexplorer is for internet.

They could manage to package several browsers, letting the user choose.

You can reinstall it from the CD that came with your computer.

IE has deeper roots within the OS without IE windows is crippled its been proven already.

Care to show some evidence for that? I uninstalled IE from my XP computer and it is completely fine.

Care to show some evidence for that? I uninstalled IE from my XP computer and it is completely fine.

IE is integrated within explorer help etc.


You may have got rid of some files for IE but I can guarantee you its not completely uninstalled

Then would Windows be lying to me when I removed it from Windows Components? I'll boot up XP and see if it messes help up for me...

Windows doesn't directly allow you to remove it from Windows components thats the reason why the EU is complaining in the first place.

What other browsers should Microsoft install on Windows? They're competitors?

That's like going to McDonalds having the Whopper.

But does Microsoft make any money when people use their browser rather than others?

What other browsers should Microsoft install on Windows? They're competitors?

That's like going to McDonalds having the Whopper.

Sure Microsoft is going to bundle Safari with Windows.

That makes perfect sense.

And leave out all other software too. You can download all good stuff on the net, why bundle it with an OS?


So what do they want then? Give them an OS without a browser? How are you gonna surf on the internet then? Go purchase a browser on a disc somewhere? People are idiots.

If you vLite a Vista install and remove Internet Explorer, you WILL have features missing. My most noted "missing feature" is RSS feeds--they simply can't work.

What other browsers should Microsoft install on Windows? They're competitors?

The main problem I have with this is that Microsoft is being singled out.


If they do this then they should debundle Safari from OSX or make them give the option to install other competitors products

Look at Apple install a Apple product on your computer and they will bug you until you cave to install the rest.

It's a bit stupid for the European Commision to try to debundle IE from Windows, if they don't like it. Don't use Windows...

First of all Windows will not run without explorer go kill explorer.exe and tell me your results

I swear people need to think.

As I said, it's not a matter of IE being shipped with Windows - as that's perfectly fine; it's a matter of system integration. If Firefox or Opera or Safari can't work without IE, then Microsoft is effectively having a monopoly on internet browsers, as they could perfectly devise a way for the IE components to not work with other browsers. wink2.gif

Safari Firefox and Opera all work fine without IE I think you may be misunderstanding.

IE is integrated within explorer help etc.


You may have got rid of some files for IE but I can guarantee you its not completely uninstalled

What's wrong with having a browser monopoly on your own OS? I really don't see the problem.

Quoting you:


Emphasis mine.

Also see Bob-Sama's post.

The EU has an innate - and rather justified - dislike for monopolies.

Addendum: try installing Windows updates from Firefox or Opera.

Um, its Microsoft's operating system. Let them bundle what they want! I personally would be pissed if one of my copies of windows did not come with internet explorer. It is required for a lot of things and windows is depended on it. Also, in the article, Opera said it could not match the distribution that IE has. They could, if they cared to develop an operating system.

People complain about every little thing

Sure Microsoft is going to bundle Safari with Windows.

That makes perfect sense.

And leave out all other software too. You can download all good stuff on the net, why bundle it with an OS?


So what do they want then? Give them an OS without a browser? How are you gonna surf on the internet then? Go purchase a browser on a disc somewhere? People are idiots.

You cant use Windows Update without having IE?
Does that make sense?
Windows is depending on having IE to most of the actions, like that you cant make own webbrowsers without it, and
how stupid would they be if they mounted competitors browsers on their own OS?
EU cant just say:
"We want you to unbundle Internet Explorer from Windows."
That would mean a total reconstruction of NT!
NT is the part of Windows that needs IE, and if they dont have it, it wont function with internet capabilities or updating.
Because NT was made long ago, they didnt think that IE was going to be unbundled, and therefore it would ruin it all.
And then it would be the end of NT and it would take years before the next OS came out, and then all applications would need to be remade.
They cant take the loss of IE, its too important, its a part of Explorer too, when you are in Explorer, you can go to an internet page by entering at the bar.
By removing IE, it would need to be remade, and all of the system would turn out unstable and you could get errors at any time.

By removing IE, you remove NT and Explorer gets unstable, in short.

That's exactly the problem. By making it so that you cannot remove their browser without serious consequences, Microsoft is abusing their near-monopoly of computers sold today.
Mac OS comes with Safari, most Linux distros come with Firefox, but the key point is that they are removable in favor of others; however, (and correct me if I am wrong on this) neither can install IE. People who use Windows (meaning most people who have computers) get used to using IE, and the inability to use it if they switch operating systems makes them less likely to go through that switch. Given, this is a minor factor, but it's still a factor.

That's exactly the problem. By making it so that you cannot remove their browser without serious consequences, Microsoft is abusing their near-monopoly of computers sold today.
Mac OS comes with Safari, most Linux distros come with Firefox, but the key point is that they are removable in favor of others; however, (and correct me if I am wrong on this) neither can install IE. People who use Windows (meaning most people who have computers) get used to using IE, and the inability to use it if they switch operating systems makes them less likely to go through that switch. Given, this is a minor factor, but it's still a factor.

Even if they did put it in there, it is their operating system, so their rules

EU's case won't hold up in court because Apple abuses there monopoly of the mp3 player market by forcing you to use itunes and microsoft can simply state that.

If that doesn't work they can threaten to boycott europe considering the majority of the population relies on Windows the EU would have its handfuls in hate mail and complaints.