Is EU looking at yesterday's Microsoft?

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"If application developers, including Microsoft's own, could no longer be able to count on Win media being there, they might think that maybe they need to ship their own player along with their products," said Rob Helm, research director for Directions on Microsoft, a research firm focusing specifically on the software company. "Then they might go to RealNetworks or someone else. That opens up a lot more competition on PC platforms."

Netscape had 95% of the market before Microsoft entered the scene. That points to the fact that the market naturally coalesces around one standard. All that would happen by fragmenting the PC media player market now would be to delay the popularity of digital media (not sure who that benefits, but certainly not consumers). Developers who can't assume a single common API will use less media in their applications.

It MIGHT result in something else becoming the standard. On the other hand, given that Microsoft tends to make good software for its own operating system, they might just manage to end up the standard, anyway.

The EC, and America's DOJ, is fighting the structure of the software industry. It's a bit like trying to fight gravity.

I still think that the best thing the DOJ and EC could do is to push for standards in Windows (including those made by Microsoft) to be licensed to any and all comers at reasonable prices. There's a reason why Microsoft has market power, and that is based on the ideosyncracies of software markets (software needs standards). Ensure that the standard-setter keeps those standards open to everyone is a more rational approach to IT market regulation than trying to pretend that software is like the market for corn.

Posted by: John Carroll   Posted on: 03/08/04 You are currently: a Guest | Members login | Terms of Use

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