Em maio de 2003, David Caulton, gerente da divisão Windows Media da MS, disse o seguinte:

"We’re still very comfortable with the strategy of enabling lots and lots of partners to build these things, rather than build a closed proprietary service on our own."

Ele tava falando sobre venda de conteúdo (particularmente música), depois do sucesso do iTunes da Apple. Pois bem, agora a MS tá lançando sua própria loja. Pode? Não é a 1a nem a 2a vez que a estratégia da MS para seus 'partners' é firme como prego no angu.

David Berlind, da ZDNet, postou 4 perguntinhas bem oportunas:

1. Was this what Sun CEO Scott McNealy meant when, during remarks about Microsoft’s Passport service and monopoly position in the beginning of 2002, he predicted that Microsoft would do to its customers what no technology company should do: compete with them?

2. If Microsoft is willing to compete with certain customers in the selling of music and videos, will it stop there? Or should other customers in other sectors (eg: financial services) buttress themselves for Microsoft’s entry when and where MSN can play a role (eg: MSN Money Central) and if, as was the case with Apple, Microsoft feels pressured to do so.

3. Could this situation have been avoided if, at the very least, the government’s trustbusters ordered MSN to be spun-out as a separate company and forbade Microsoft from operating an online service that is evenly remotely tied to its monopoly in desktop operating systems. As is the case with Apple’s online music store and and its iTunes application that comes with its OS X operating system, Microsoft’s online music store is expected to have close ties to the Windows Media Player that’s bundled with Windows.

4. How will this development affect Microsoft’s current antitrust battles? Earlier this summer, in an antitrust ruling, the European Union levied $600 million in fines against Microsoft and ordered that the Windows Media Player be removed from European distributions of Windows. The sanctions have been suspended pending Microsoft’s appeal. Will Microsoft’s entry into the music business cause the EU to stand firm in its decision and will a loss in Europe increase the resolve of other governments to explore their options?

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