Microsoft: we offered to install three media players with Windows

By Simon Aughton

Posted on 24 Mar 2004 at 13:28

Microsoft offered to install three different media players with all Windows installations worldwide - not just within the EU - during discussions with the European Commission last week.

Brad Smith, senior vice president, general counsel and corporate secretary, Law & Corporate Affairs said in a conference call today that the company offered to make concessions that would have gone even further than the conditions imposed by the EC.

'We fully responded to the Commissions concerns,' said Smith.

In addition to opening the OS to other media players, Smith said that the company was also prepared to provide 'unprecedented access to Windows' for other developers.

Smith said that had the EC accepted Microsoft's concessions, developers and consumers would have a clear picture now regarding the future of media players, but because the EU decided to proceed with its penalties, the state of play will remain uncertain until the appeals process is over, which could take four to five years.

He said that the removal of Media Player from Windows will have implications not just for Microsoft, but also for websites that include WMP content, such as BSkyB's and developers who plug into WMP technologies. Some websites and third-party applications will no longer work, he insisted.

Moreover, features in Windows such as audio or video guides for visually- and hearing-impaired users will no longer be available.

Smith said that the EU ruling would provide consumers with a version of Windows without functionality that they expect but for the same price.