Archive for the ‘microsoft’ tag
Windows to Add Mandated Browser “Choice Screen” in March 2010
The European Commission details the new, compulsory “Choice Screen” browser selection update to Microsoft Windows. From the Press Release:
What is the Choice Screen and how can people get it?
Microsoft has agreed with the European Commission to offer Microsoft Windows users a Choice Screen giving them an easy choice about which web browser they want to use.
The Choice Screen will be provided to those European Windows users (currently more than 100 million) who have Microsoft’s web browser Internet Explorer set as their default web browser.
Until now, Microsoft has provided its web browser together with its Windows software, whilst the main competing web browsers generally have to be downloaded from the internet. This means that often other browsers do not get installed on consumers’ computers.
The Choice Screen will take the form of a Windows update. The update will be installed automatically for users who have opted for automatic installation of updates via Windows Update so they will not have to do anything to get access.
The Choice Screen will be available from mid-March 2010.
This would have been more effective if mandated before Microsoft launched Windows 7, but I guess it’s better late than never.
Microsoft Complies with European Comission for 2 Months
Longer than anyone thought, but still a poor showing nevertheless.
[From Microsoft kills Windows 7E, puts IE back in upcoming OS - Network World]
The Network Really is the Computer
Sun Microsystems, one of the stalwarts of the computing industry, has a simple motto: “the network is the computer.” Yesterday, Google took that motto to an entirely new level with the announcement of it’s Chrome OS.
Details on Chrome are sparse (which has not stopped technology writers from writing ad nauseum about all the features it will have). What it appears from Google’s press release, however, is that Chrome will be an incarnation of the old “network computer” (NC) concept, where the bulk of the computing will be conducted on centralized servers. Rebranded “cloud computing”, this server-centric model is the latest fad.
NCs have a significant limitation not found in personal computers: to fully function, an NC requires a constant, reliable network connection. Chrome will likely utilize Google’s “Gears” framework. Even so, the dramatic push of an entire operating environment to the web seems both radical and unwise. When Gmail went down for several hours earlier this year, the world panicked. The harm caused by a Gmail outage will be miniscule compared to an outage of thousands of computers.
It is far too early to tell if Chrome will be a mere dumb terminal or something far more sophisticated. A number of important questions also remain to be answered, such as how open the Chrome platform will be, the willingness of people to adopt a new operating platform, and the response of the existing operating system developers.
Monetizing the Crowd
This is part two of a multi-part series on the next generation of internet communications. In this article, I will be exploring the problems with internet business models.
Unless you are a multi-national bank, there is something seriously wrong with having a business model that does not produce any income. Running a business or organization requires money and, although profit is not always the motive, some form of revenue is important for sustaining almost any endeavor.
The exception to this rule is, of course, the internet. Throughout its commercial history, profit has been an sufficient, but not necessary, condition to the perpetuation of cyberspace.
Microsoft Fine Upheld
The Court of First Instance (CFI) upheld the 2004 fine imposed by the European Commission today for an “abusing a dominant position” (Article 82 TEC). The Court upheld the previous decision holding that, once a dominant position is established, “the refusal by the holder of a dominant position to grant a licence may infringe Article 82 EC unless the refusal is objectively justified.” (Case T-201/04, para. 333). Microsoft will have to pay its € 497 million fine.
