Microsoft: an antitrust success?

By Alex Singleton | 27 June 2005

While the antitrust process may seem reasonable on paper, it is rarely effective. Thanks to the European Union's lengthy antitrust investigation into Microsoft, Europeans will soon be able to buy Windows XP Home N. The N signifies that it does not come with Windows Media Player. The version of Windows with the player will remain available at the same price.

According to CNN, major players in the EU computer market Sony and Dell have said they do not intend to install this product on their computers. "From our experience, customers purchasing computers expect them to come equipped with the capability of playing back digital media files," Dell spokesman Liem Nguyen told the broadcaster.

The leading competitors to Windows, Mac OS X and commonly-available versions of Linux, come with media players pre-installed.

In Antitrust's Greatest Hits, David B. Kopel and Joseph Bast look at the history of antitrust in the United States, including the actions taken against Standard Oil, the Aluminum Company of America, and AT&T.; They conclude that "something other than preventing harm to consumers - the stated goal of federal antitrust legislation - is the motivating force behind applying the law."

(Via Tom G. Palmer.)