uninstalling windows media player

[slackerbob]

is there any possible way to uninstall windows media player? or am I stuck with it because it's integrated with windows?

thanks

[Netlist]

Which media player version and which OS version?

[Christer]

Maybe you can hide it in some versions of Windows but it is
integrated so you can't really get rid of it, which is why MS
will now have to pay a near 500 million Euro fine.

[millwood]

Originally posted by Christer
which is why MS
will now have to pay a near 500 million Euro fine.

something interesting about the European anti-trust authority:

1) microsoft was fined for boundling the media player, yet they are allowed and forced to sell Windows bundled with the media player. Funnier yet, the fine is for past offenses. so technically, Microsoft is ordered to commit a crime (bundling the media player) from this point onward, there would be no immunity for the forced bundling, and the EU can still fine microsoft for future bundling. How messed up is that?
2) as part of the fine, Microsoft will be forced to sell a medial-player-less version of Windowns, for the same price. Talk about value to the consumer,
3) if the argument is that consumers are hurt because of bundling, there is no hope: Monti and his friends will allow bundling of media-player like products into windows (like realplayer, etc.), as long as it is not done by microsoft. So consumers will still have one choice (practically), except that it wouldn't be windows,
4) that's not the end of it. Monti emphasized that the fine was just for Microsoft's European revenue and it is fully within his rights to enforce the European anti-trust standard worldwide, for those unfortunate souls living out side of Europe. But he was nice enough to just limit to Microsoft's European revenue, completely out of his kindness,

Has anyone reminded him his title as the European anti-trust commissioner?

Talk about people with ego so big that they forget who they are.

[slackerbob]

It's windows Me, and media player version 9.

[Christer]

Millwood,

I haven't really followed the case as closely as you seem to
have done, so I have no opinion on it. Anyway, media here
in Sweden has on commented that although this would be
a very big fine, it is more like a parking ticket for MS.

I was a bit surprised though to hear about this case. I had
missed that it was ongoing. On the other hand there is, or
at least was another case, where SUN has filed complaints
to the EU commission about MS trying to get monopoly on
the server side. I don't know what has happened about that
case.

Of course, the biggest problem is that so many software and
hardware companys make Windows-only products. I sometimes
wonder if MS pays money to some companies for making
their products Windows-only? What interest does Canon have
in refusing to reveal the information necessary to write
drivers for Linux for their scanners? They would get a bigger
market if they did, and they wouldn't even have to spend the
effort to write new drivers if they don't want to; others would
do it for free. (Unless you have guessed it already, I happen
to have a Canon scanner ).

[Rob M]

Originally posted by slackerbob
is there any possible way to uninstall windows media player? or am I stuck with it because it's integrated with windows?

Do you really need to uninstall it? I'm using Windows XP, and I've got winamp, quicktime, and realplayer installed. WMP is still there, I guess, but I never use it or see it.

[millwood]

Originally posted by Christer
I sometimes
wonder if MS pays money to some companies for making
their products Windows-only?

That would probably be illegal in the US (maintenance of monopoly). Monopoly itself isn't illegal, surprisingly.

the fine levied on Microsoft i think is the largest corporate fine in european history (there are more and bigger crooks in the US, I guess).

Pamalot has a shot at topping it but collecting it would be tough,

[Christer]

Originally posted by millwood


That would probably be illegal in the US (maintenance of monopoly). Monopoly itself isn't illegal, surprisingly.

Really? I thought the anti-trust law was there to stop companies
from getting a monopoly? Of course it is up to a court to decide
if the law applies in a certain case or not.

the fine levied on Microsoft i think is the largest corporate fine in european history (there are more and bigger crooks in the US, I guess).

It most certainly is. We don't have such rich companies here.

[slackerbob]

all right, so there's no way to get rid of it. I'll just hide all the shortcuts to it then. The original idea was to clean up my hard drive of programs i don't use, to free up some space.