Posted on 06/16/2005 9:44:11 AM PDT by ShadowAce
Strange thing about an operating system with missing functionality... no one wants to sell it. That's what the European Commission is discovering, as major PC OEMs are declining to preinstall the media-player-free Windows XP N on any of the systems they sell. While Fujitsu Siemens says they'll sell it "on request," Dell, Lenovo, and HP are all taking a pass on it. Dell's perspective is indicative of the dilemma faced by the manufacturers.
"Customers purchase computers expecting them to come equipped with the capability of playing back digital media files, and it's our obligation to meet this need. (Windows XP will) not (be offered) at this time. We'll monitor the market to see if XP N is in high demand."
Somehow, I don't expect customers to be inundating Dell any time soon with requests for computers that can't play back media files out of the box.
As part of the sanctions handed down after the EC's findings that Microsoft violated EU antitrust law, the software giant was forced to offer a version of Windows XP with Windows Media Player unbundled. After a dispute over naming (for some reason, the EC didn't care for Windows XP Reduced Media Edition), Microsoft agreed to make the new version available.
For its part, the EC is taking a wait-and-see approach, with a spokesperson saying that it is too early to draw conclusions about Windows XP N since it is not yet shipping. Given the lengths to which the EC has gone to ensure Microsoft's compliance with the sanctions (which include a €497 million fine and a requirement that the company make some of its server protocols available for licensing), expect them to keep a close eye on what happens with Windows XP N. But if the OEMs won't sell the WMP-bereft OS, there may not be much the Commission can do about it.
Pfft. The answer is apparent: force manufacturers to sell it, and force customers to buy it. And outlaw Linux while you're at it, because it decreases the demand for Windows XP N. We'll be the judge of what you need, citizen.
When anybody talks about European sophistication and superiority, I think about crap like this.
So what the heck do you get when you turn your new computer on? "Hi, Europeans! This computer doesn't have an operating system. Good luck!"
So, how hard is it to download WMP? Is it a free download? if so, it seems to me that this is a non-issue. Also, what about Realplayer or Quicktime? Sounds to me like the resellers are just being anal-retentive.
Unless they have a cable modem, European users are subjected to high charges for downloads. I used to do beta testing on a program that included a large number of German participants. They were constantly bitching about the enormous German phone-line charges that the beta-testing cost them. Their socialist phone corporation had stiff charges for local calls. I can well believe it.
Sure, you can download MS Media Player 10, but it's a large program, and it would probably cost a bundle for any Euro computer owner who had to use a phone modem.
I could see myself buying it. The windows default player isn't that great and there's far better programs out there with better functionality.
It really depends on the individual situation. Some dialup ISPs just give you a toll number to call, while others have toll-free numbers (such as Telekom). Also, competition for phone service is kicking in, so you can get some pretty good plans now. Cable isn't as popular over there, but DSL is, mainly because it's supported by Telekom, and it's not very expensive. In that case, downloads work just like they do for anyone here on broadband.
If you're on the net a lot, DSL is actually cheaper than dialup since nobody with a toll-free number offers unlimited time online. The only way you're screwed is if you need a lot of net time and you're in one of the few areas that doesn't get DSL, as I was (I was within 100 meters of being able to get it).
It's not up to the resellers. Their job is to provide what customers want. If the customers don't want XP N, that's all the resellers need to know.
Somewhat of a canard there. Both products are essentially the same. The only diff that I can see is that one has WMP and the other doesn't. Downloading WMP (if it is free) or providing a free disk with it upon request doesn't sound like a terribly big deal to me.
The same goes for 3rd-party apps as well. This whole fiasco with MS and the EC was just stupid, in my opinion. If a custerom wants another media player, he/she just has to DL one.
I greatly prefer OSes that are more modular than Windows, however, so that I can choose whether or not to allow a particular app to take up disk space. The whole "(whatever app) is essential to Windows and is highly integrated" argument is stupid as well. However, I now have a choice in which OS to use, while the EC decision was not about choices, but about power.
...(which include a €497 million fine...
I think this was all the EU was after. Everything else is just window dressing.
Nah, they don't want to do it because it's more work for them, with no apparent return. Put two copies of XP on the shelves, one with WMP and one without, and mark them at the same price. See which one sells more, and then you'll know why they don't want to carry two versions ;)
I fail to see what the difficulty is here. Why not do what I do for configured systems; install a default OS, and optional OS other than the default if requested, and in all cases FOSS programs to provide extra fucntionality. Where a particular program is not available (such as this article on a no-WMP system) I install an open-source alternative. As an example, I get asked quite often if I can install MS Office on a machine. I respond that of course I can -but somehow, most people are unwilling to part with the extra 500$ the suite requires. That is when I select My OpenOffice cdrom, and install what they need to perform the work they wish the machine to do.
I agree. The main reason I posted this was to show that the whole affair was/is just a farce put on by the EU.
The same goes for 3rd-party apps as well. This whole fiasco with MS and the EC was just stupid, in my opinion. If a custerom wants another media player, he/she just has to DL one.It's no different than the browser issue here actually. I wonder when the Eurocrats will allow independent transmission producers to sue automakers for refusing to provide vehicles without transmissions so that customers can pick which they want.
-Eric
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