Phil Da Lick! wrote:
> Roy Schestowitz wrote:
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>>
>> Unbundle IE in Europe? Why stop there?
>>
>> ,----[ Quote ]
>> | My interest here isn't in what Microsoft and the EU agree to as an
>> | appropriate remedy for Microsoft's market dominance in web browsers or
>> | past legal transgressions. My interest is in ensuring an increase in
>> | the global competition in operating system platforms. In short,
>> | unbundle IE in Europe? Why stop there? Why not unbundle the whole of
>> | Windows from all OEM PCs shipped in Europe?
>> `----
>>
>>
http://community.zdnet.co.uk/blog/0,1000000567,10012947o-2000630136b,00.htm
>
>
> Well that would be extremely difficult for John Q Pleb trying to buy a
> PC. What they do need to do is make sure that there are no barriers to
> OEMs selling PCs with other operating systems, legal or financial.
Sorry - "Extremely difficult"?
I don't see why.
My understanding of the proposal as it stands is that the customer should
not be charged at the point of sale, but rather if he continues to use the
installed OS after a trial period.
ANALOGY:-
Many new Windows PCs come with a trial version of MS Office. It works for
30 days, but after that stops working unless you register it and pay some
money.
Similarly, at one time, a Windows OS stopped working unless one registered
it, but these days it seems to be "pre-registered" by the PC manufacturer?
All that needs to happen is that one reverts to the above analogy, and the
purchaser pays (separately) for Windows if he decides to continue using it
after a short trial period?
Is that difficult?
To me, it seems to:-
- overcome most/all objections to "bundling"
- give a functioning PC "out of the box"
- allows the user to check out the PC for faults
- do away with shouts of "Microsoft tax"
- go a long way to fair competition
- give transparency to the true price of Windows.
I'd prefer to see a system whereby the PC was sold "bare", and with a
separate install medium (image) for it as a separate purchase, but I'd
certainly applaud the above method.
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