The Microsoft Report: Justice OKs IE7, URGE to Surge
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Written By Reprise Media | May 15, 2006 | Share This
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Good evening, Internets. Tonight: Microsoft news.
Despite Drawbacks, IE7 Not Anti-Trust Violation You may remember the brouhaha that erupted a couple of weeks ago when Google complained to authorities in the US and Europe that IE7’s built-in search bar constituted a breach of fair competition. Google didn’t think it was fair that the new version of Internet Explorer - presumed, like its predecessor, to become the dominant browser in the market once packaged with Windows - would use MSN as its default search engine unless the user took steps to alter the settings.
Google argued that the process of switching the search engine used by the IE7 search bar was too complicated, but the Justice Department doesn’t agree, calling it “a relatively straightforward method.” We await word from across the pond, where Microsoft is already embroiled in a long-running anti-trust dispute.
Windows Media Player Goes to 11, Accompanied by URGE Hoping to juice up the music download market commanded by Apple’s iTunes, MTV Networks will come out with a beta version of their URGE service on Wednesday, says PaidContent - and it’ll be tightly integrated with Windows Media Player 11, headed to beta on the same day.
Although it’ll only work with Windows (shock!) URGE will feature competitive pricing at 99 cents per track, and also offers a two-tiered monthly download subscription plan - $9.95 to listen songs on a PC, $14.95 to transfer tracks to compatible portable players. Speak of the devil, BetaNews says that we’ll soon see the Clix player on the market, co-developed by Microsoft and iRiver and designed for URGE and WMP11 synchronization.
Topics: Microsoft |