Microsoft hit with 280m euro fine

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/5171126.stm

Is this significant? Or just another minor skirmish? I can't decide.

(Text pasted in to save you following the link):
Microsoft has been fined 280.5m euros ($357m; £194m) by the European Commission for failing to comply with an anti-competition ruling.

The software giant will appeal against the fine which follows a long-running dispute between it and EU regulators.

The move follows a landmark EU ruling in 2004, which ordered the US firm to provide rivals with information about its Windows operating system.

EU regulators also warned Microsoft it could face new fines of 3m euros a day.

Well, since Bill Gates could write them a check for this amount and not even miss the money, I would have to say it's a minor skirmish.

My students once did the math. If Bill Gates is walking down the street and sees a 1,000 dollar bill its not worth his time to bend over and pick it up, he makes 3 times that in that amount of time.

except of course, he'd still be making it while picking up the 1000, in essence increasing his earnings by 33%

I think its bull that EU wants him to pay anything, if I was him I'd buy up all the plots of land around the eiffel tower and put "Impeach Bush!" cubes on it

Since when did the Eiffel Tower have anything to do with the EU?

You're just jealous that you don't live in a part of the world where companies are expected to behave responsibly.

Oh, wow, that hurts

Imagine you own a garage and start making your own cars. They drive easy, look good and yes, they require periodical fixes but in the end many people buy them from you. You even make so many cars that people start using them without paying for it and you won't even notice.

In twenty years time most people drive your cars.

They could buy other brands of cars though, there are several. But people find them hard to drive, don't know where to go to get them fixed and they come with less options. Sure, they cost less or nothing at all, but most people just won't put the effort in to get to know how to drive them properly.

To keep your cars the best as can be, in the end you want your customers satisfied, you purchase some smaller car-manafacturers. You also buy several companies that build parts that could be used just fine in your cars.

Now the strange thing happens that the other carmanufacturers and carpart-companies demand that you tell them exactly how you make that fine car of yours (- and parts you put in them -). When you'd do so, they will be able to better suit the customers, who will then perhaps buy their cars instead of yours.

Somewhere at the other side of this great lake, a place where you ship your cars to and the roads are also filled with them, they agree with the other carmanufacturers. Because of the fact you succeeded in building a car most people bought, without anyone holding a gun to their head to do so, you are told to share your knowledge on building cars.

After a bunch of lawsuits you give in, you share the information. The other carmanufacturers use this information to build just as good cars as you did. As a result of your information, they make more money and you make less. You worked for it and they didn't, but in the end you all earn the same.

The country your company resides in, thought they won the war on communism little more than a decade ago. Boy, where they wrong...

If I were to start a busines and buy up all the competition and sit on info so no competition could exist, I would get nailed for having a monopoly. After all the years Microsoft has had one it's about time they suferred the LEGAL consequences as well

Thats what im talking about! This guy knows his shit. I'm sick and tired of our government trying to control companies, and it makes me even madder when other countries try to control them. I think Bill is hassled too much by the US and EU alike. If you had your own business wouldn't you want it to exceed, wouldn't you want it to live, wouldn't you want it to.. take over?

lol. good catch. i was just thinking the same thing.

Yeah, bloody foreigners attacking our friendly monopolists for not obeying their silly rules!

Actually, I don't think anybody could cheerfully afford 3m Euros a day, so it will be interesting to see what will happen.

I´m trying to poke your eye from the icon hole CLiffy, but it seems you´re shielded.

I wonder how happy the EU would be if Microsoft told them to stick it up their ass and just stopped selling product to them.

How long would they last without Microsoft based computers?

You keep out of my hole, you!!

You've just justified the court's decision: it's part of their responsibility to prevent a situation where such an action would have overly drastic affects on the economy in the EU.

yet it didn't work, Microsoft could still just walk away from Europe and yall would be up the creek without a paddle

And if the EU wants to declare open season on reverse engineering Windows within their borders, there isn't a whole lot that MS can do about it.

MS actually has a stake in keeping the EU happy to. And the EU does represent a significant market.

*shrugs* as would you if the MS management would do an economic amok run like this in the USA. Do you think you're in a better position just because Microsoft is supposed to be an American company?

And do you think the court's decision was correct, but it came too late?

Hmm... I suppose in the (unlikely) case Microsoft retreated from the European market the demand would create supply... it's not as if Microsoft is the only company in the software market (yet).

Isolationism is rarely wise.