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| MS Won't Appeal Immediate Sanctions |
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Monday, January 24 2005 @ 06:55 PM EST
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Microsoft says it will "forgo" its right to appeal the immediate sanctions ordered by the EU Commission, and will work to implement them and to concentrate on appealing the main ruling instead: "Rather than seeking to suspend the Commission's remedies, Microsoft's focus now is on working constructively with the Commission on their full and prompt implementation." . . .
Microsoft said a European edition of Windows without Media Player would be available "in the coming weeks" and it had made specifications available to rival makers of server software -- a second key Commission order.
But Microsoft said it would continue to appeal the Commission's landmark ruling from March 2004, when the EU's competition watchdog also levied a record 497 million euro ($649.7 million) fine.
"We remain very optimistic as we move forward in this process, and are encouraged that the December court order noted that a number of Microsoft's arguments could provide a basis for overturning the EC's decision," Microsoft said in a statement. I thought you'd like to know that not all corporate behavior in litigation is bizarre. This is a rational response to a loss.
Here's their page entitled "Microsoft Implementation of European Commission Decision, which sets forth the license terms. There is also a license to evaluate for two days the technical documentation for potential license. If you license, here are the terms, subject to revision by the Commission:
1. The Microsoft Work Group Server Protocol Program License Agreement for Development and Product Distribution ("WSPP Development Agreement") grants to licensees, on a royalty basis, certain of Microsoft European intellectual property rights for the purpose of interoperability with Microsoft client and server operating systems. Specifically, licensees will obtain the rights to use the licensed Microsoft technical documentation to develop implementations of the WSPP communications protocols for the available server tasks enabled by the WSPP protocols that the licensee selects. In particular, this Program makes available, under the license, the communications protocols implemented in Windows Server Operating Systems1 and that are used by a Windows Work Group Server2 to deliver file and print services and group and user administration services (including the Windows Domain Controller Services, Active Directory services, and Group Policy services) to Windows Work Group Networks.3 Under the Program license terms, the technical documentation for these protocols, which will be provided to licensees through secured access, can be used in the development and distribution of work group server operating system products within the European Economic Area to accomplish one or both of the specific work group server tasks identified above. All licenses available under the Program require completion of the program entry requirements and payment of fees. As mentioned above, the terms of the WSPP Development Agreement are subject to revision upon comment by the European Commission.
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1 "Windows Server Operating Systems" means the software distributed and licensed by Microsoft as Windows 2000 Server Standard Edition and Windows Server 2003 Standard Edition.
2 "Windows Work Group Server" means a computer connected to a network and on which a Windows Server Operating System is installed.
3 "Windows Work Group Network" means any group of (i) personal computers connected to a network and on each of which a Windows Client Operating System is installed and (ii) Windows Work Group Servers, linked together via a computer network. "Windows Client Operating Systems" means the software distributed and licensed by Microsoft as Windows 2000 Professional, Windows XP Professional, or Windows XP Home or their successors for use on Intel-based personal computers. Notice the geographical limits. Here's their FAQ page for more info. I always hated Windows Media Player, because it was such a snoop. Take a look on the FAQ page of all the files Microsoft was ordered to remove, some 186 of them. It's a handy list. If I still used Windows, I'd probably try to self-help or something. There is something in my nature that can't see a list like that one and not want to know what all the files do. I bet if I looked each one up, and I would before removing anything, I'd get a pretty clear picture of just what Media Player was up to. My hair would probably stand on end. So, knowing me, I'd back everything up first, have my CDs ready to reinstall if necessary, and then probably do it the easy way, with Zone Alarm maybe, or one of my books on Windows, checking out each file, and then probably I'd have looked in the registry to see what else I could learn. Then I'd try removing and see what happened. I am actually feeling nostalgic. On the FAQ page they give this timetable: Q: When will you implement the European Commission Decision?
A: We are completing the process of preparing these new versions of Windows XP for commercial release. We have agreed with the Commission on a reasonable timetable to distribute these versions of Windows XP. Now that we have received the Order of the President of the Court of First Instance, we are able to finalize testing and make them available to our largest computer manufacturers in January, 2005, and to others in February. Hmm. Maybe it would be good to list the files right here, the Internet being what it is and all: Appendix: Files Required to Be Removed by the European Commission Decision
End User Multimedia Functionality
1. MPLAYER2.CNT
2. MPLAYER2.EXE
3. MPLAYER2.HLP
4. MPLAYER2.INF
5. MSDXMLC.DLL
6. DXMASF.DLL
7. MSDXM.OCX
8. UNREGMP2.EXE
9. WMERRENU.DLL
10. WMPVIS.DLL
11. ASFERROR.DLL
12. CEWMDM.DLL
13. CUSTSAT.DLL
14. DLIMPORT.EXE
15. MPVIS.DLL
16. MSISAM11.DLL
17. MSSCP.DLL
18. MSUNI11.DLL
19. MUSIC.ASX
20. MUSIC.BMP
21. MUSIC.WMA
22. NPDS.ZIP
23. NPDSPLAY.DLL
24. PLYR_ERR.CHM
25. SETUP_WM.EXE
26. SHMEDIA.DLL
27. WMERROR.DLL
28. WMP.DLL
29. WMP.INF
30. WMP.OCX
31. WMPASF.DLL
32. WMPBAND.DLL
33. WMPCD.DLL
34. WMPCORE.DLL
35. WMPDXM.DLL
36. WMPLAYER.ADM
37. WMPLAYER.CHM
38. WMPLAYER.EXE
39. WMPLOC.DLL
40. WMPNS.DLL
41. WMPNS.JAR
42. WMPSHELL.DLL
43. WMPSTUB.EXE
44. WMPUI.DLL
45. MYMUSIC.INF
46. PLYLST1.WPL
47. PLYLST10.WPL
48. PLYLST11.WPL
49. PLYLST12.WPL
50. PLYLST13.WPL
51. PLYLST14.WPL
52. PLYLST15.WPL
53. PLYLST2.WPL
54. PLYLST3.WPL
55. PLYLST4.WPL
56. PLYLST4.WPL
57. PLYLST6.WPL
58. PLYLST7.WPL
59. PLYLST8.WPL
60. PLYLST9.WPL
61. ATOMIC.WMZ
62. BLUESKY.WMZ
63. CANVAS.WMZ
64. CLASSIC.WMZ
65. COMPACT.WMZ
66. GOO.WMZ
67. HEART.WMZ
68. ICONIC.WMZ
69. OPTIK.WMZ
70. PYRITE.WMZ
71. RADIO.WMZ
72. REVERT.WMZ
73. ROUNDLET.WMZ
74. RUSTY.WMZ
75. SKINS.INF
76. HEADSP~1.WMZ
77. MINIPL~1.WMZ
78. PERSONAL.WMZ
79. PRO.WMZ
80. SPLAT.WMZ
81. TOOTHY.WMZ
82. BKTR.GIF
83. BKTRH.GIF
84. CLOAPP.GIF
85. CLOAPPH.GIF
86. CNT.GIF
87. CNTD.GIF
88. CNTH.GIF
89. CONTENTS.HTM
90. CONTROLS.CSS
91. CONTROLS.JS
92. COPYCD.WMV
93. EVENTS.JS
94. MDLIB.WMV
95. MPLOGO.GIF
96. MPLOGOH.GIF
97. NUSKIN.WMV
98. RTUNER.WMV
99. SND.HTM
100. TAOFF.GIF
101. TAOFFH.GIF
102. TAON.GIF
103. TAONH.GIF
104. TOUR.JS
105. TOURBG.GIF
106. TPAUSE.GIF
107. TPAUSEH.GIF
108. TPLAY.GIF
109. TPLAYH.GIF
110. VIDEOBG.GIF
111. VIDSAMP.GIF
112. VIZ.WMV
113. WM1.GIF
114. WM2.GIF
115. WM3.GIF
116. WM4.GIF
117. WM5.GIF
118. WM6.GIF
119. WM7.GIF
120. WM8.GIF
121. WM9.GIF
122. WMPAUD1.WAV
123. WMPAUD2.WAV
124. WMPAUD3.WAV
125. WMPAUD4.WAV
126. WMPAUD5.WAV
127. WMPAUD6.WAV
128. WMPAUD7.WAV
129. WMPAUD8.WAV
130. WMPAUD9.WAV
131. WMPLOC.JS
132. WMPTOUR.CSS
133. WMPTOUR.HTA
134. MPLAY32.EXE
135. MINDEX.DLL
Windows Media Platform Technology
1. WMVDMOE.DLL
2. ACELPDEC.AX
3. L3CODECX.AX
4. MPG4DS32.AX
5. MSADDS32.AX
6. MSSCDS32.AX
7. WMV8DS32.AX
8. WMVDS32.AX
9. L3CODECA.ACM
10. MP43DMOD.DLL
11. MP4SDMOD.DLL
12. MPG4DMOD.DLL
13. MSAUD32.ACM
14. SL_ANET.ACM
15. WMADMOD.DLL
16. WMADMOE.DLL
17. WMSDMOD.DLL
18. WMSDMOE.DLL
19. WMSDMOE2.DLL
20. WMSPDMOD.DLL
21. WMSPDMOE.DLL
22. WMV8DMOD.DLL
23. WMVDMOD.DLL
24. WMVDMOE2.DLL
25. MSPMSPSV.DLL
26. MSPMSNSV.DLL
27. MSPMSP.DLL
28. MSWMDM.DLL
29. WMDM.INF
30. WMDMLOG.DLL
31. WMDMPS.DLL
32. ASFSIPC.DLL
33. DRMCLIEN.DLL
34. DRMSTOR.DLL
35. NPWMSDRM.DLL
36. BLACKBOX.DLL
37. DRMV2CLT.DLL
38. NPDRMV2.DLL
39. NPDRMV2.ZIP
40. WMVCORE2.DLL
41. LAPRXY.DLL
42. LOGAGENT.EXE
43. WMIDX.OCX
44. WMASF.DLL
45. WMFSDK.INF
46. WMIDX.DLL
47. WMVCORE.DLL
48. STRMDLL.DLL
49. MSNETOBJ.DLL
50. WMNETMGR.DLL
51. WMSTREAM.DLL
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| Authored by: LinuxLobbyist on Monday, January 24 2005 @ 07:40 PM EST |
They forgot one: SNOOPONU.DLL
;-)
---
Local Linux Lobbyist
Ever see a penguin fly? -- Try Linux.
GPL all the way: Sell services, don't lease secrets [ Reply to This | # ]
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| Authored by: Weeble on Monday, January 24 2005 @ 07:53 PM EST |
After all, nobody's perfekt.
---
On The Trailing Edge of Technology Since 1987.
[ Reply to This | # ]
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| Authored by: Weeble on Monday, January 24 2005 @ 07:59 PM EST |
Go to my post in a previous article
for some helpful tips on posting in HTML, especially in posting links.
If
you happen to be paranoid about TinyURLs, go to search and look for the string
'Sample format for clickable URL' in a post by me.
One of these days I'll
get my PC straightened out so Clipboard works again. Sorry about
that! ---
On The Trailing Edge of Technology Since 1987.
[ Reply to This | # ]
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- OT and Links Here - Authored by: red floyd on Monday, January 24 2005 @ 08:09 PM EST
- SCO Issues OpenSSL Patch, 10 Months Late - Authored by: bsm2003 on Monday, January 24 2005 @ 08:13 PM EST
- Microsoft excluded from World Social Forum - Authored by: m_si_M on Monday, January 24 2005 @ 09:20 PM EST
- OT "McNealy: Microsoft needs Sun to beat IBM and Red Hat" - Authored by: Brian S. on Monday, January 24 2005 @ 10:28 PM EST
- The costs of being a public company - Authored by: m_si_M on Monday, January 24 2005 @ 10:54 PM EST
- OT: Kahle v. Ashcroft Appeal - Authored by: joeblakesley on Monday, January 24 2005 @ 11:06 PM EST
- OT The IBM/SCOG Litigation. - Authored by: Brian S. on Tuesday, January 25 2005 @ 12:33 AM EST
- One of the strengths of FOSS - Authored by: Anonymous on Tuesday, January 25 2005 @ 03:47 AM EST
- TheRegister: "CE giants open DRM to the community - Authored by: warner on Tuesday, January 25 2005 @ 03:57 AM EST
- OT EU Parliament and patents. - Authored by: Brian S. on Tuesday, January 25 2005 @ 05:50 AM EST
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| Authored by: Anonymous on Monday, January 24 2005 @ 08:12 PM EST |
Gee, since the USA seems to like letting the Europeans dictate our laws and
policies on copyrights and stuff (Berne, etc.) is there a way we can force WMP
out of the USA copies?
OTOH I travel to Europe quite often. Assuming I want to play dumb and put XP on
a box (shudder) can I get a copy there with the stripped out spyware, but use it
here? Or will their (broken) "update" service just try to put it back
later?[ Reply to This | # ]
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| Authored by: maco on Monday, January 24 2005 @ 09:05 PM EST |
Seems like they're using the judgment to do what they really want to do in the
first place:
- claim "intellectual property" rights for their
protocols
- charge royality for their use
having their cake
and eating it too.
package their product in such a way it will anger
customers, who will be angry and EU, not MS. in the meantime legitimize their
IP / royalty strategy under guise of blessings of the court.
if the EU
wants to make a meaningful difference, this battle with MS has just begun.[ Reply to This | # ]
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| Authored by: digger53 on Monday, January 24 2005 @ 09:18 PM EST |
| There's a command that can be executed from the "Start" menu by RUN:
C:Program
FilesWindows Media PlayerSetup_wm.exe/Uninstall
found at
click
here
I used it to dump Win MP 9 after I found out about all the other stuff
about it. Thaat tool actually leaves you with WNI MP 1 or something. As I've
never been keen on watching video on a cofuser, that was fine for me. Now, I use
LINUX. ---
When all else fails, follow directions. [ Reply to This | # ]
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| Authored by: Anonymous on Monday, January 24 2005 @ 11:13 PM EST |
I completely removed Windows Media Player, along with Outlook Express, Windows
Address Book, NetMeeting, and tons of other junk from all my windows systems
using a handy little program called XPlite and 2000lite v1.5, available from
LitePC Technologies. There is also a 98lite version. I highly recommend this
inexpensive program. This doesn't just disable the software - it REMOVES the
files without damaging your windows OS.
By removing Outlook Express and Address Book, your systems will also be more
secure.[ Reply to This | # ]
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| Authored by: Night Flyer on Tuesday, January 25 2005 @ 01:23 AM EST |
To you and I a $649.7 million fine is a staggering amount... However, if M$ can
delay the judgement a year or two through appeals, it can simply expense this
amount into the cost of doing business in Europe, with nary a blip in its bottom
line.
No I don't think that this is pocket change even for Microsoft. But it does
seems to be a part of its business strategy and it does seem to be built into
the overall cost structure.
----------------
Veritas Vincit: Truth Conquers
[ Reply to This | # ]
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| Authored by: rm6990 on Tuesday, January 25 2005 @ 02:26 AM EST |
PJ, you should read this article. Kind of interesting. From an ex-Microsoft
employee that worked on the open sourcing of those 2 Microsoft programs.
http://stephesblog.blogs.com/essays/CustomersIP.html[ Reply to This | # ]
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| Authored by: Anonymous on Tuesday, January 25 2005 @ 03:11 AM EST |
Come one, come all OEMs and integrators, get your new version of Windows
with less functionality for exactly the same price.
Hurry, hurry,
hurry, this is a limited time offer, pending our appeal.
Hmmm.
I don't exactly see them all rushing at once. Do you? [ Reply to This | # ]
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| Authored by: Anonymous on Tuesday, January 25 2005 @ 04:42 AM EST |
Microsoft said [...] it had made specifications available to rival makers
of server software -- a second key Commission order.
So Samba have
been sent the relevant docs then?
Rich.
[ Reply to This | # ]
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| Authored by: Anonymous on Tuesday, January 25 2005 @ 08:37 AM EST |
"The Microsoft Work Group Server Protocol Program License Agreement
for Development and Product Distribution ("WSPP Development Agreement") grants
to licensees, on a royalty basis, certain of Microsoft European intellectual
property rights for the purpose of interoperability with Microsoft client and
server operating systems. Specifically, licensees will obtain the rights to use
the licensed Microsoft technical documentation to develop implementations of the
WSPP communications protocols for the available server tasks enabled by the WSPP
protocols that the licensee selects."
It seems to me they are
confusing licences to use the protocol (patent license?) and a "licence" to
receive documentation in exchange for money. Receiving something in exchange for
money is called a "purchase" and the item "sold" would then be subject to the
doctrine of first sale...
So what are they actually licensing? I
dunno...
According to copyright, there is nothing to stop somebody
taking this "licenced" knowledge and writing thier own book to transmit that
knowledge to other people. Analogously, I have read the news today about this
story and am now writing about it myself, based on knowledge acquired while
reading. That is not a proscribed act, of course.
Copyright cannot
prevent my computer sending signals down a wire in a certain way, it only
protects the literary work from which a programmer learned how to make it send
those signals. Once the programmer has acquired that knowledge, copyright law is
irrelevant.
So, is this a patent license, or simply an attempt to
confuse and scare developers away from the protocols? Is it an attempt to trick
them into agreeing not to write a book on the protocols?
SJG [ Reply to This | # ]
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| Authored by: The_Pirate on Tuesday, January 25 2005 @ 02:06 PM EST |
It looks to me, as if - under the terms of this 'License' - FOSS will not be
able to use M$'s 'intellectual property'.
If i read this right (i won't claim i'm right. I understand legalese very
poorly), the supposedly public standards have to be non-disclosed.
Isn't this in direct contradiction to the ruling?[ Reply to This | # ]
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| Authored by: Anonymous on Tuesday, January 25 2005 @ 02:13 PM EST |
The Register has an article
saying that a dozen companies have told the MPEG LA that some aspects of MS's
VC1 video compression are covered by their patents. [ Reply to This | # ]
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| Authored by: gotan on Tuesday, January 25 2005 @ 06:45 PM EST |
After telling IIRC, under oath, the US Anti-trust people, that it was not. Just
remove these files, and functionality gone? Sounds modular to me. Do you think
Novell might be listening?[ Reply to This | # ]
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