Summary: Microsoft diverts antitrust case towards Google and shows its sheer hypocrisy

YESTERDAY WE wrote that Microsoft was likely to simply attack Google in order to defend its own crimes. Well, it turns out to be right. A reader points to this new report from Reuters, whose headline is "Microsoft says EU may boost Google dominance." The article says that "if the screen showing computer users their browser choices is created by the PC makers, Google could work directly with these manufacturers and have them set the search defaults in its favor, the paper cited the software company [Microsoft] as saying." As our reader puts it, "unlike Microsoft's policy of keeping the OEMs out of the 'customer boot experience'." To quote from court evidence, here is Microsoft on "Replacing the Windows product registration mechanism":

"lets OEM’s interject themselves into the first boot customer experience and offer customers valued added services before a Microsoft proposition of similar services"

Our readers adds: "The supreme arrogance of Microsoft, it reminds me of the Nixon defense, it's not a crime if the president does it."

In the mean time we learn from another reader that Yahoo! is now paid to advertise IE8. "Yahoo is promoting IE 8 in user-generated email," says the reader, "[it's a] forced ad signature." We saw something similar yesterday, so it could be part of the evolving relationship between Yahoo and Microsoft. It's perfectly fine for Microsoft to have deals with Yahoo!, but it's wrong for "big bad Google" to do so (according to Microsoft). ⬆