Free-market think tank urges EU to unbundle Windows
(theRegister)

What an excellent idea?

But even short of requiring all PCs to come sans OS it would be very “educational” to require vendors to state the retail price for the OS when sold separately and offer a discount to any and all customers who prefer not to take the OS from them. And that can apply whether or not it is from Microsoft.

And the same should apply to all major/popular applications. Browsers, media players and networking technology. After all there are still many many customers who do not wish to set up a local LAN. Or, maybe I should say “can” set up a local LAN even if they wanted to. So clearly they should be afforded a juicy discount.

I would suggest between $100 and $250 or more depending upon the OS. $35 for the browser. And about $25 or so for the media player. Oh, and about $50 for the networking.

Gosh, I mean it does not take any intelligence at all to realize that is consumers can pick and choose the key software they buy that it would be quite a stimulus for all vendors including Microsoft. And, guess what? Vista would die. Microsoft has already admitted that by allowing downgrades to XP. But, where is the consumers option to just go with Linux?

Consumers are removed by illegal marketing practices. They do not count. They are ignorant as well. Thinking that somehow whatever it was forced upon them is good for them. Just like Firestone tires on their Ford Explorer. When customers were ignorant of that program they just bought the bad tires and the bad vehicle combination.

Consumers need to be given appropriate choices.

Jerk heads at the DOJ think otherwise. And that is true even when the judge has to remind them time and time again that they are supposed to represent the consumer too. They absolutely know they are not doing so.

The result is that the consumer suffers. And the result is that consumer can not take any options that resolve the issue. The monopolist hiring dumb engineers prevents it.

The EU and other economies have to decide which products are important enough to have their markets protected against illegal bundling. That is all there is too it. Illegal practices will be used to preclude consumers from having a say.

And no. It absolutely is not a natural monopoly. It is an illegal one.

I realize that Microsoft claims it wants a free and open market too. But, when they say it they only mean they want the result that results as a consequence of their illegal acts.