Microsoft (MSFT) And EU: Best Friends For Life?

Apps & Software

Published: January 8, 2008 8:02 pm

After all of the bile that has passed between the European Union and Microsoft (MSFT) over Redmond’s monopolistic behavior in the region, the two may now be bedfellows.

The European Commission, a branch of the EU, has been trying to build its own "Google (GOOG) killer", not wanting the US to dominate one more key arena of the tech world. The governing body has contracted with Fast Search & Transfer, a company which Microsoft is buying, to "lead Pharos, short for Platform for Search of Audiovisual Resources Across Online Spaces, a publicly funded project designed to develop technology geared to help businesses better search multimedia files," according to MarketWatch.

It may be that the EU and Microsoft have found a common goal in wanting to beat back Google so that it does not come to dominate the worlds of search, wireless devices, desktop software, and green energy.

Now that Google is the one with the monopoly, why shouldn’t Microsoft get a little help from the government?

Douglas A. McIntyre

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