Microsoft has sent its lawyer Brad Smith to Brussels to tell the European Commission that the company will comply with the commission's demand that it offer a version of Windows without Windows Media Player should the European courts reject Microsoft's pleas not to do so.
The commission argues that Microsoft is exploiting the ubiquity of Windows rather than the merits of WIndows Media Player to help it dominate the media player market. Microsoft, though, has not given up on its counter-arguments.
According to Smith, the commission claims that Linux will disappear unless Microsoft granted access to its documentation.
"But Linux is alive and well," he pointed out, "and I don't know any person at Linux or any Linux programmers who share the commission's view."
However, Smith said that Microsoft would comply with the court order, "whatever it is".
"Unbundling Windows Media Player would be a victory for consumers and competitors," said one Brussels lawyer. "It would force Microsoft to compete based on the merits of its software."
As for Linux, no-one has yet quoted chapter and verse on which member of the commission allegedly made the "Linux would disappear" remark.
Written by LinuxWorld staff
