10 Years After Antitrust Suit, Microsoft Up to Old Tricks

[Mr.Pandah]

To all the people asking why it was a problem back then...because other companies were trying to get in as well. But nobody really knew any better then the big blue e on their desktop. Netscape and all that bullshit was most likely handed out on cd's too with AoL 4.0 and up. I don't really remember, but that's my beat guess. In today's society, it doesn't even matter anymore.

 

[Micah Weil]

Eh...sad to say, I do have use for Internet Explorer.
The company I work for has a website that one can access from home to do things like set up Direct Deposit, check your pay statement before the checks are in, file complaints against the store you're working in, yadda yadda yadda.

For whatever oddball reason, the company's tech department has not gotten with the times and it is ONLY IE compatible. It's frustrating as hell, but a reasonable example of how IE's still gonna be around. I can promise ya, this isn't the only company that pulls that BS.

 

[Fayathon]

"And when Windows 8 launches in a year or so, I will likely never click on that big blue "e" to open Explorer anyway."

Apart from using it to download a different browser, the only thing it's good for.

I'd agree with that sentiment, but I keep an installer for Firefox on my external hard drive for if I need to reinstall it, and my flash drive has a copy of Chromium just in case I need a browser that doesn't suck on someone else's computer if I'm working on it and they get pissy about me installing shit.

OT: I'd be willing to bet that not long after 8 is released someone comes up with some method to remove IE10 with or without Microsoft's blessing, so I couldn't care less. That said I have no inclination to even look Windows 8 over unless programs I want/need decide that their new versions only work with the OS, I'm quite happy with 7 right now.

 

[Thaliur]

And I still want to know why I should even bother switching from Win7 into Win8 rather than waiting for a next OS that will actually improve on performance rather than add gadgets I won't ever use?

Actually, Windows 8 DOES have some really neat improvements, like greatly reduced base memory usage (about 50%), much quicker startup, and lots of convenient additions like native ISO mounting, File history (basically real-time backup, like shadow copies, but on any location you choose. Very similar to Apple's Time Machine, but, as usual, with far greater compatibility).

There are enough sites around that list all known changes to Win8, actually.

I might even get used to Metro, although this will apparently be optional in the final release.
I'll definitely get Windows 8 once it's published, especially since I'll get it for free
Sometimes, being a student isn't all bad...

 

[Drejer43]

http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j86/rannxerox/Yoda_Does_Not_Care.jpg
I thought this was appropriate, given that the last time I used explorer, This guy was still a puppet.

Objection!!
Is it not "given a fuck, not was"?

 

[Lukeydoodly]

This is not a big deal. At all.

 

[The_root_of_all_evil]

Microsoft is breaking the law until they're enforced to retract it?

But we've trusted them with everything they've done so far!

Well, apart from the Vendor Lock-in, False accusations of Piracy, the Halloween documents, forced licencing agreements, Windows 7 Super-Basic, replacing R&D with M&A, Skype's problems, Hotmail's problems, Vista, ME, CE, NT, 98 blocking non-Americans, Monoculture viruses, Labour practices, bribing Advertisers, blacklisting, censorship, banning gay words, installing security software on its RL workers, race changing photographs, Embrace - extend and extinguish, self-destructive life cycles, appeals to FUD, Win 32 shatter attack response, lost backward compatability, SPF registry, DRM, upgrades, downgrades and 8 replicating an Xbox.

That's almost as bad as stealing forty cakes!

 

[The_root_of_all_evil]

Why does it matter that you can't delete it? That doesn't mean you have to use it, eh?

Yeah, this is the first thing I can think of.

Because it's illegal. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/7.84459-European-Union-Takes-On-Microsoft-Updated]

And because Microsoft tried it against Google. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/108918-Microsoft-Files-Antitrust-Complaint-Against-Google]

 

[Aeshi]

Willing to bet that the people whining about how evil this is would be the first to start whining about how there's no back-up browser if their primary browser ever failed/got corrupted.

 

[Tuqui]

"And when Windows 8 launches in a year or so, I will likely never click on that big blue "e" to open Explorer anyway."

Apart from using it to download a different browser, the only thing it's good for.

Not even that, an useful pen drive will hold last installer version of other browser to not even need to touch it.

 

[ritchards]

Never mind the new 10 being integrated, I've tried to install 8 and then 9, but neither will install properly, and nothing uninstalls properly so I can try a clean install... so it's all screwed up as usual...

 

[SextusMaximus]

Oh no, my disc space will be very slightly reduced.

This one makes no difference to me whatsoever.

 

[funksobeefy]

The first thing I always do when I start up a new computer, mine a friends, or familys,is to uninstall IE and install Firefox.

 

[Twilight_guy]

10 years ago is nearly per-histroy in computer terms. Things change and this isn't that bad anymore. Whats more is that most people who would care about whether or not they can delete one program are the kinds of guys who install unix with no default system functions and then manually install the ones they like, or install some extremely cut down version of Linux that is basically nothing more then the kernel with File IO and a string buffer text editor. (those guys scare me).

 

[BehattedWanderer]

As long as I can change which browser is the default, I don't really care. I'd like to delete it altogether, being a person who routinely gets rid of things I'm not using, and install both firefox and chrome, for the main and backup browsers respectively, and be on my merry way. But, as long as it doesn't interfere with things, then I'd be fine with it just sitting in the back, not taking up power, processing, or utility.

 

[danirax]

I dont see whats wrong whit that.
it even looks helpful because IE the most helpful browser to download other browsers.
and there are all kinds of files that can be open only whit IE and none other browser tho they are rare and common users wont notice or will have need for them....

 

[weirdee]

Knowing Windows, if it's there, it's got some way of siphoning tons of resources even though it does completely nothing, only allowing you to disable it once you've gotten past any contrived security clearances, accessing specific menus, and knowing what the hell each function does by name, and maybe a sparse and vague description when you mouse over it. A lot of functions amount to crap that is about as useful as, say, the ability to know how many feathers are on a chicken at any given moment.*

*Note: chicken feather counting only available with Professional Edition.