The European Union’s landmark ruling against Microsoft gets a healthy dose of reality today.  Not only did the EU impose arguably ridiculous legal requirements upon the software company, they were also the second jurisdiction to judge Microsoft based on the arguments of common plaintiffs. 

Recap:  The EU tried Microsoft on behalf of the same companies that could not defeat Microsoft in the United States court system.  The result, was a record $613 Million fine, and a demand that Microsoft release a version of Windows without its infamous Media Player.

What a joke.

First of all, we should assume that the European financial grab directed at one of the largest collections of wealth in the U.S. will be redistributed to struggling European businesses, further disrupting the free global economy. 

But we should also cock our heads and wonder about the other penalty.  A new version of Windows?  Why?  Does it do something the current version doesn’t?  No.  Does it offer any additional value?  No.  Is it a mandatory replacement for the existing versions?  No.  What good does it do? 

Simply put, the mandate to offer a new version of Windows was the EU’s way of chiding Microsoft with a catty “I am the boss of you” attitude.  How immature.  In fact, this demand places additional financial burden on Microsoft, reducing its ability [ever so slightly] to deliver value to the customer.  This is not good for anybody.  Unfortunately, Microsoft competitors (who championed the entire case) including SUN and Real are just happy to land any blow against Microsoft. 

Just how useless is this new version of Windows?  According to a CNet article published today,

Dell, Hewlett-Packard, Lenovo and Fujitsu Siemens all said they have no firm plans to install Windows XP N, citing a lack of customer demand. A Dell representative added Tuesday that customers expect to have a media player included.

"Dell will continue to offer European customers Microsoft's Windows operating systems including the Windows Media Player utility on Dimension desktops and Inspiron notebooks," the spokesman said.

Computer manufacturers know that they will not benefit from this piece of software.  They also know that there is no demand for such a product because the end user will not benefit either.  The ultimate failure lies with the EU legal system RealNetworks, Inc.   Real wanted so very badly to get their media player bundled with Windows instead of Microsoft’s Media Player, it’s a shame they dropped the ball.  After declaring a victory in European court, after little success in the U.S. legal system, Real completely failed to strike a deal with PC manufacturers to offer their media player alongside the new version of Windows. 

Who wants a PC with no media capabilities?  Apparently nobody.

Who wants a PC with Real Player instead of MS Media Player?  Apparently not enough to make a wave.

Who wants the EU to judge U.S. companies after the U.S. Supreme Court has already issued a ruling on the same case?

W.S.