Microsoft and Europeans in Standoff

I have no love for Microsoft. I'm an original victim of Steve's Reality Distortion Field. But this wringer Gatesville is getting put through is bullshit. What the European Commission is threatening is nothing more than extortion.

I've got Windows machines here in my office alongside my Macs; everybody's got Quicktime and everybody's got RealOne Player installed. And the Macs have Media Player installed, just in case I run into something that gives Quicktime agita or I want to see how something I'm working on plays in that arena. Prying cash and proprietary code from Redmond under the ruse the E.U. is using is nothing more than mugging the rich kid in the schoolyard for some lunch money and part of his locker combination so it'll be easier for you to get into his stuff some time down the line.

Think of it this way: You go to buy a car. The salejerk shows you two models, one with a radio installed and one with a hole in the dashboard with some wires sticking out where you can install whatever tuner you like. You are not an automotive audio geek; you just want to hear your tunes and couldn't give a damn about the radio's brand. What model do you buy? (3..2..1..)

Exactly. This has nothing to do with protecting consumers. Consumers could care less as long as the product does what they want with a minimum of fuss. Me? I'd buy the car with the hole in the dash. One of the first things I did when I bought my first computer, an Apple 2C, was violate my warranty and start screwing around with insides. 128K of RAM would not do! I wanted a Meg!