Read
- Taxes on some wealthy French top 100 pct of income: paper
- North Korea fires short-range missiles for two days in a row
|
- Israel warns against Russian arms supply to Syria
- Winning ticket for $590.5 million Powerball lottery sold in Florida
|
- Female hostage died from police bullet in New York standoff: official
Reuters Photojournalism
Our day's top images, in-depth photo essays and offbeat slices of life. See the best of Reuters photography. See more | Photo caption
Ethiopia's salt trails
For centuries merchants have traveled to Ethiopia to collect salt from the surface of the vast desert basin. Slideshow
Sponsored Links
EU says Microsoft pledged to meet antitrust requests on browsers
Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer speaks at a Nokia phone launch, with Microsoft's Windows 8 operating system in New York, September 5, 2012.
Credit: Reuters/Brendan McDermid
CERNOBBIO, Italy |
CERNOBBIO, Italy (Reuters) - Software giant Microsoft is ready to introduce measures that would address the European Union's antitrust concerns about users' ability to chose between different browsers, European Commissioner Joaquin Almunia said on Saturday.
EU antitrust regulators are investigating whether Microsoft blocks computer makers from installing rival web browsers on its upcoming Windows 8 operating system, following complaints from several companies.
Almunia is in charge of antitrust enforcement at the European Commission.
"In my personal talks with Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer he has given me assurances that they will comply immediately regardless of the conclusion of the anti trust probe," Almunia said at an economic conference in northern Italy, adding that he considered the matter a "very, very serious issue."
The affair is part of an investigation opened in July into the world No. 1 software company's failure to offer users a choice of rival web browsers which it had agreed with regulators three years ago.
In its latest spat with the U.S. group, the EU watchdog is also looking into allegations that Microsoft does not provide access to complete interfaces (APIs) for non-default browsers in Windows 8.
Separately, Almunia said he was in favor of extending a temporary authorization for state aid for stricken Franco-Berlgian bank Dexia beyond a September30. deadline.
"But the most important thing is to advance on a final, structural solution about the future of the Dexia group," he said.
(Reporting by Lisa Jucca)
- Tweet this
- Link this
- Share this
- Digg this
- Reprints
Amusing comment considering that Apple is worth quite a bit more than Micro$oft is. Also, Apple’s market share isn’t really tiny. I think the principle involved here is that Apple conforms to Unix standards for their APIs whereas Micro$oft has a history of just modifying things so that they are incompatible with everybody else and you really need the technical details from them to be able to be compatible. That’s why the EU isn’t worried about Apple – they play by the rules, Micro$oft doesn’t.
Follow Reuters