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A few years back, the European Union took Microsoft to court, alleging that they abused their monopoly, and ended up not only fining them hundreds of millions of Euros, but compelling them to release a version of Windows without Windows Media Player. All well and good, if you agree with the ruling, that is.
So imagine my amusement to find out that The Council of the European Union has a streaming media site which seems to require you to use Windows Media Player to view the various news conferences they put online for the benefit of democracy, or some rubbish like that. They make a reference to Real Player, another American alternative to Windows Media Player, but then go on to say that "The users have the choice between Microsoft Media Player 6.4 and higher." Hmmm.
They also say that "We cannot support Linux in a legal way. So the answer is: No support for Linux". (Linux is an operating system which originated in the EU, unlike MS Windows.) As for browsers, they support "Internet Explorer 5 and higher, Netscape Navigator 6 and higher." Who the hell uses Netscape Navigator these days? Why do I see so many sites saying that? Has the typical web developer been locked away in a dark room for the last 5 years? "Firefox and Opera will be supported with a minimal of functionalities". Opera is a European browser, made in Norway (part of the European Economic Area, even if not the EU proper). Nice to see the local market is supported.
This all strikes me as being utterly ridiculous.
(Petition here if you're so inclined.)
So imagine my amusement to find out that The Council of the European Union has a streaming media site which seems to require you to use Windows Media Player to view the various news conferences they put online for the benefit of democracy, or some rubbish like that. They make a reference to Real Player, another American alternative to Windows Media Player, but then go on to say that "The users have the choice between Microsoft Media Player 6.4 and higher." Hmmm.
They also say that "We cannot support Linux in a legal way. So the answer is: No support for Linux". (Linux is an operating system which originated in the EU, unlike MS Windows.) As for browsers, they support "Internet Explorer 5 and higher, Netscape Navigator 6 and higher." Who the hell uses Netscape Navigator these days? Why do I see so many sites saying that? Has the typical web developer been locked away in a dark room for the last 5 years? "Firefox and Opera will be supported with a minimal of functionalities". Opera is a European browser, made in Norway (part of the European Economic Area, even if not the EU proper). Nice to see the local market is supported.
This all strikes me as being utterly ridiculous.
(Petition here if you're so inclined.)
