By Jon Bernstein, 8 May 2002 07:57
NEWS The latest version of Microsoft's Internet Explorer uses Windows Media Player technology to play downloaded music files even if a PC user has installed rival streaming software, a Washington court heard yesterday. In the continuing anti-trust case, Microsoft executive Linda Averett was questioned about her company's use of streaming technology. Averett admitted there was nothing to stop Microsoft making it possible to default to a rival technology such as Real Player from RealNetworks but the company had chosen not to. Averett said streaming was a feature deliberately integrated into the browser. The current chapter in the ongoing Microsoft anti-trust saga begun earlier this year when nine US states demanded stronger remedies to deal with Microsoft's anti-competitive behaviour. Last week, the court heard that Microsoft was ready to employ the same tactics to defeat video streaming competitor RealNetworks that had been used to beat browser rival Netscape.
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