EC comes out firing at Microsoft

The European Commission is gunning at Microsoft’s Windows Media Division, claiming that Windows Media Player has unfairly benefited from its ties to the Windows operating system. Microsoft still has a chance to refute the claims and avoid punishment, but if the EC wins its case the Redmond bunch could be fined up to $3.2 billion or be required to bundle competing media players such a RealOne Player. Personally, I don’t see what the big deal is. It’s relatively easy to download RealPlayer, Quicktime or WinAmp for that matter. Real’s subscription services and content deals should help it stay afloat and convince people that having more than one media player is an okay thing.