What do shoelaces have to do with Microsoft's court visit?

I'll bet you never thought you would hear Microsoft invoke shoe laces in its argument to defend its bundling of Media Player with its operating system, as it appeals the EU's anti-trust ruling.  Yesterday was the first day of a five-day hearing before the Court of First Instance in Luxembourg.

In defending its decision to bundle Media Player with its operating system, UK's The Independent reported that Microsoft's attorney told the court, "One has to consider whether there is a demand for shoes without laces.  Since customers want to buy shoes with laces it has become commercial practice, therefore it is not tying."

The European Commission's representative didn't buy that analogy.  According to The Independent, he told the court that Microsoft's bundling was "more like one in which shoemakers obliged consumers to buy laces from them."

Shoe laces, of course, are not the real issue here.  The real question is whether Microsoft's bundling of Media Player stifled competition from other software offerings, such as Real Player.  The European Commission's representative described Windows as a "virtual monopoly" and claimed Microsoft is driving rivals out of the market and having a "chilling effect" on innovation, according to The Independent.

Wish I could be in the court room in Luxembourg listening to the arguments this week, but I'll have to depend on the European press for that front seat coverage.