Windows XP Home Edition N

[BJ_M]

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Microsoft and the European Commission have agreed the software company can sell a stripped-down version of its Windows operating system under the name "Windows XP Home Edition N," Microsoft said Monday.

The deal represents a small step in Microsoft's long battle with the European Union's executive, which last year ruled the software company had abused the near-monopoly of Windows to crush competition, fined it nearly 500 million ($650 million), and ordered it to change its business practices.

The Commission ordered Microsoft to sell a version of Windows without its Windows Media Player audiovisual software but the two clashed over a suitable name.

The Commission's order is meant to open the market for alternative software to play films and music, from RealNetworks (Research), Apple (Research) and others.

Horacio Gutierrez, Microsoft's top lawyer in Europe, said the names "Windows XP Home Edition N" and "Windows XP Professional Edition N" were suggested by the Commission after it rejected 10 suggestions by Microsoft.

"We have some misgivings about the chosen name, as we fear it may cause confusion for consumers about the product, but we will adopt the Commission's name in order to move forward and accelerate the pace of the implementation process," Gutierrez told Reuters by telephone.

The edition was already sold to computer makers and would be on sale to the public in "a matter of weeks," Gutierrez said.

Microsoft wanted consumers to be clear what they were buying but the Commission said it should not put off consumers, like Microsoft's first choice, "Windows XP Reduced Media Edition."

Commission spokeswoman Antonia Mochan said it was still analyzing market feedback on Microsoft's behavior.

"There's more to this issue than the name," she said.

Shares of Microsoft (up $0.11 to $24.39, Research) edged higher in trading on the Nasdaq.

[hhhhbk]

Microsoft's first choice, "Windows XP Reduced Media Edition."

lol

microsoft should be allowed to call their product whatever they like

surely they can just sell the edition without all audio and video tools at a minimal reduction in price so people would still buy the full version

[RottenFoxBreath]

then they would have another group after them.
i assume that most people would see that as Microsoft try to rip people off.

[joeg04]

at a minimal reduction in price so people would still buy the full version

According to the following source, MS will sell it at no cost reduction at all.
http://www.microsoft-watch.com/article2/0,1995,1754121,00.asp
I think the EU should have ordered a significant price difference.

And according to the next source, if you install MS media player on it, then it can't be removed again.
http://www.wxperience.de/news/2824/

[BJ_M]

"...no OEM's want to sell a stripped down version anyway..."

[ViRaL1]

at a minimal reduction in price so people would still buy the full version

According to the following source, MS will sell it at no cost reduction at all.
http://www.microsoft-watch.com/article2/0,1995,1754121,00.asp
I think the EU should have ordered a significant price difference.

And according to the next source, if you install MS media player on it, then it can't be removed again.
http://www.wxperience.de/news/2824/

How much should they take off for stripping out a freely downloadable application?

[joeg04]

50 €

[junkmalle]

No, they should shave 50 € off both the stripped down and regular versions.

[BJ_M]

why ? they have the right to sell it at any price they want ..

[joeg04]

I think a monopolist should not have this right. And nobody forces MS to offer a freeware media player that runs on the reduced version.

[BJ_M]

well i guess you dont own shares of MS or believe in free enterprise

[hhhhbk]

microsofts rights are being violated by not letting them call it reduced media edition which is clearly a non offensive and fair name

im glad they left it at the same price
would have found it so funny if they had put the price up
that would have really wound up the EU court

the basic microsoft media player is decent for pc illiterate users
they can play cds and use internet audio & video files straight away

real player is rubbish full of pop ups and crappy adverts
if they made a decent player then maybe people would want to pay for it
if they are the ones complaining then it sounds like they are the ones scared of competition rather than microsoft

personally i use media player classic for everything
quicktime or the alternative is installed for movie trailers etc

saying microsoft have a monopoly is unfair
people arent forced to use it
and there are other operating systems such as linux
and different freeware sofware to do just about anything on the pc

windows is not that expensive now
win xp home approx £50 in UK
win xp pro approx £90 in UK

and there are alternatives to office

if these other companies are making some great product then people will pay for it
eg adobe acrobat lots of people pay for the ability to make pdfs

imho any software company complaining about the microsoft monopoly just has an inferior or worthless product

[hhhhbk]

also movie maker doesnt appear to be removed

it will either not work with the removal of media player
or will still play audio and video files which is what was being whinged bout in the first place

[MOVIEGEEK]

I thought the lawsuit brought by the EU was rediculous because there's nothing stopping a consumer from installing a third party player,browser,etc.If Windows prevented installing third party software then I can see a lawsuit was warranted.

[JimJohnD]

How about:

Windows XP Home Edition EU

and

Windows XP Server Edition EU

[joeg04]

there's nothing stopping a consumer from installing a third party player,browser,etc

That is done by MS player=freeware, MS browser=freeware, funded by Windows earnings. That forced Real to use pop ups and crappy adverts and Netscape to go bankrupt.

[BJ_M]

those sound better ... what is N supposed to stand for ?

[MOVIEGEEK]

N=Nutered

[BJ_M]

N=Nutered

[hhhhbk]

the n will lead to confusion amongst consumers
at least
Windows XP Reduced Media Edition
would clearly tell consumers the difference

although youd have to be pretty stupid to pay the same price for a lesser version

if dell start shipping with the
Windows XP Reduced Media Edition
then judging by their rip off prices of other upgrades
they will be likely to start charging more for the version with the media player

[joeg04]

N = not with media player.
http://www.boersenreport.de/technikmedien.asp?msg=004647200000001640000000000

[huntingtheasphyx]

What I like most about this is.. everyone moans that Windows lacks so many features that should be free. For years people were saying it should have a firewall, it should have an antivirus program, why should I have to buy 3rd party software when Windows should already have it.
Now we're at a point where it's a case of lets take out all the functionality that is in the operating system.

For anyone who knows how to use a computer (i.e. anyone visiting a site about video conversion), we already know that we dont have to use the software that comes with the OS. For the beginner, they get confused about what to use if its not already on the computer. Media Player is good enough for those that dont want to search the internet and spend ages (possibly still on dial up) downloading software they would expect to come as standard.

I guess I see this as buying a car with no stereo in it. The manufacturer says, hey, we'll give you a free one, but you have to come to our offices to pick it up...install it yourself.
They shouldn't be put in this position.

I say let them stick everything they want into the operating system, let it be activated and installed at the user request, by laying dormant on the PC, just like the thousands of drivers that are sat unused in the *.cab files.

Those that know what to do with a computer will always use trial and error or do a bit of research, but for those who dont know any better, let them learn with software that does the job, then they can move on if they want to.

Imagine the people that are gonna spend their money on XP, they are gonna start it up and say..wait a minute this thing cant even play mp3s. ..and then the calls to the expensive support lines start.

[ViRaL1]

Microsoft Windows XP Whiney Edition?

[mbellot]

what is N supposed to stand for ?

Not much different.

[State Of Mind]

http://nuhi.msfn.org
nLite

Strange how it's the letter N...

Most people start with 1.5 GBs in their C:\WINDOWS. I have under 300 MBs.

[DereX888]

What I don't get is why some EU commission is even penalizing a manufacturer/seller for selling their own product in any way they want? Make no mistake - I *hate* Msoft, I dont use any crappy WMP, but obviously if the product itself causes no harm to any buyers/users then its none of their business to be involved in whatever is bundled with it and whatsnot.
(BTW - I had same opinion on DOJ vs Msoft when it was about IE in USA).
Lets say I hate GIMP being bundled with almost every flavor of linux and I prefer something else (whatever) - is there a case for me to go after every linux distributor? Ofcourse not, so why is it doing so against f***ing Microsoft is justified?
Gimme a break.
European union stinks like f***ing soviet union did before.
And please spare me the bullshit of "market domination" etc. Buying any product is the foremost real and true democratic voting: you decide on what you wanna spend your money for. If 90% of PC users decided they want PC with Windows (even though theyre wrong with their choice IMO) then still its nobody elses business in forcing them to change their mind into PC with Linux, MAC, or PC with Windows sans WMP - its so f***ing obvious that it shouldnt even have been discussed.

EDIT:
If those eurocrats are so concern about their population why don't they start making laws against i.e. cigarette makers/distributors? No one has ever died because of having f***ing WMP on their PC, while there are 1000s of people dying daily because of deadly tobacco product use! Have they missed on this fact?

[joeg04]

I think, US courts should divide MS into 2 companies to remove market domination (anti-TCPA is also a good argument):
- OS company (Windows without IE, media player)
- Application SW company (office, IE, media player...)
Bundles then can be installed and sold by PC dealers.

[BJ_M]

why ?

say you form a company and it is doing really well and lots of people use your products....


then the court comes in and says you must split your company and each half can not talk to the other half ...

you would be really pissed off AND the quality of your product will may suffer ...

Has everyone lost the concept of free enterprise ?


(also the costs will go up)

[hhhhbk]

i am not a ms fan
but the courts should not be allowed to impose these things on a company

who has bill gates upset
or is someone just scared that microsoft are too powerful

[joeg04]

The government sued Microsoft in 1998, alleging that the software giant had used its monopoly power in desktop operating systems to develop a chokehold on browser software. A federal judge agreed and ordered the company to be broken up into separate application and operating system companies to prevent future abuses. That order was later overturned on appeal, and Microsoft eventually worked out a settlement that leaves it free to develop the OS as it sees fit.

In its defense against the charge it illegally tied the browser to its monopoly operating system, Microsoft argued that the operating system could not function properly without the Web browser.

Now Microsoft has flipped its argument around, claiming that future versions of the browser won't be able to function properly without the OS.

Source:
http://news.com.com/2100-1032_3-1012943.html