Microsoft Corp. ended more than a decade of antitrust disputes with the European Union by giving consumers a choice among Web browsers.

Antitrust exhibits shows Microsoft's attitude towards competition

ECIS, accepted as an intervenor in the European Commission's Microsoft browser antitrust case, has now released a statement [PDF] explaining all that it feels isn't enough about Microsoft's self-remedy. It's titled, Too Little, Too Late, and it says that while the remedy might have been appropriate in 1997, now that there have been "decades of abuse" further action is needed.

The European Commission - Directorate for Competition has officially dropped its antitrust charges against Microsoft, after Microsoft agreed to provide users of its Windows operating system a choice of web browsers. Under the new deal, Microsoft will avoid future E.C. fines and, from March, consumers will have a choice of up to twelve other web browsers.

Those of us who remember the word Netscape will also remember the browser wars. Then microsoft spliced internet explorer into its operating system and set itself up for one of the most publicised antitrust cases of this century.

Antitrust case produces a document (set of E-mails) which shows how Microsoft reacted to Dell's GNU/Linux fever

In the next seven days, both Microsoft's European Union and United States antitrust cases will reach critical junctures. A routine U.S. hearing tomorrow will likely be anything but routine. Elsewhere, an appeals court will issue a ruling on the validity of Microsoft's adverse antitrust case in Europe.

Free Software Foundation Europe (FSFE) congratulates the European Commission on its firm stance in the antitrust investigation against Microsoft, which has led the company to offer a settlement. For any such settlement, getting the details right will be crucial for competition and innovation in the web browser market.

Lately, a lot of talk has been coming out of Europe. The talk I am referring to concerns an anti-trust case against Microsoft for bundling a web browser they make with an operating system they make. The claim is that Microsoft has made competition in the web browser market difficult because Internet Explorer is included with Microsoft's Windows (a computer operating system).