0
images/news/microsoft.jpgMicrosoft Corp. has offered to provide rival browsers alongside its own Internet Explorer when it ships the next version of Windows, in order to settle a European antitrust case, the European Commission said Friday.
"Microsoft has proposed a consumer ballot screen as a solution to the pending antitrust case," the commission said in a press release.
The offer is a result of "extensive" talks with the European antitrust body, which had charged the company in January for crushing rivals by bundling its Internet Explorer Web browser into its ubiquitous Windows personal computer operating system, giving the program a huge advantage over competitors' browsers.
Under the proposal, Windows 7, which is due to be released in October, would include Internet Explorer, but also a ballot screen offering alternatives, the commission said.
The ballot-screen approach will allow consumers to choose between alternative pre-installed Web browsers when they first fire up their new computers, and is close to what the regulator had proposed to Microsoft when it initially charged the company with antitrust violations.
In addition, computer manufacturers would be able to install competing web browsers, and set them as default should they so wish, the commission said.
Microsoft has also proposed to improve the functionality between rival products and Windows and Windows Servers in order to settle another pending antitrust case.
The commission will now investigate the effectiveness of the offer in terms of providing "genuine consumer choice" before deciding on the outcome of the antitrust case.
WSJ
"Microsoft has proposed a consumer ballot screen as a solution to the pending antitrust case," the commission said in a press release.
The offer is a result of "extensive" talks with the European antitrust body, which had charged the company in January for crushing rivals by bundling its Internet Explorer Web browser into its ubiquitous Windows personal computer operating system, giving the program a huge advantage over competitors' browsers.
Under the proposal, Windows 7, which is due to be released in October, would include Internet Explorer, but also a ballot screen offering alternatives, the commission said.
The ballot-screen approach will allow consumers to choose between alternative pre-installed Web browsers when they first fire up their new computers, and is close to what the regulator had proposed to Microsoft when it initially charged the company with antitrust violations.
In addition, computer manufacturers would be able to install competing web browsers, and set them as default should they so wish, the commission said.
Microsoft has also proposed to improve the functionality between rival products and Windows and Windows Servers in order to settle another pending antitrust case.
The commission will now investigate the effectiveness of the offer in terms of providing "genuine consumer choice" before deciding on the outcome of the antitrust case.
WSJ
