Microsoft Fined 357 Million by the EU

[bapenguin]

From the completely ridiculous fine department comes this news article (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060712/ap_on_bi_ge/eu_microsoft) on Yahoo regarding the European anti-trust case against Microsoft. Microsoft was found guilty in 2004 of monopolistic practices and was ordered to comply with certain rules and restrictions. Apparantly the EU felt MS didn't listen.The EU said the new fines would take effect unless the company supplies "complete and accurate" technical information to developers to help them make software that works smoothly with its ubiquitous Windows operating system.

"I regret that, more than two years after the decision ... Microsoft has still not put an end to its illegal conduct," said EU Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes. "I have no alternative but to levy penalty payments for this continued compliance. No company is above the law."

That's a friggin ton of cash. If MS were to actually pay it, where would it go?

[Heretic Machine]

The EU said the new fines would take effect unless the company supplies "complete and accurate" technical information to developers to help them make software that works smoothly with its ubiquitous Windows operating system.

...Maybe the fuckers should buy Visual C++ For Dummies?

[SexualChoc]

That's a friggin ton of cash. If MS were to actually pay it, where would it go?

To the fat cats in Brussels who would then hand subsideraies to people who don't need them.

[bKangy]

Nah, they'll waste it on beauracratic madness. I like the EU and the ideas behind it, the whole just needs reform right now though.

[The Letter 3]

Nah, they'll waste it on beauracratic madness. I like the EU and the ideas behind it, the whole just needs reform right now though.
The EU, economically at least, is a great idea. It has the potential to provide a competitive market against the U.S. The problem (among many, but this one is big) with the EU is that each member nation very much so wants to maintain it's individual identity. That's understandable. But that doesn't help business. If you run a business in one member nation and expand to another, you are then an international business and have all sorts of legal work to keep up on. That is in direct contradiction to the purpose of the EU, which is to unify the member nations as one nation from an economic/business standpoint. I question the power of this EU commission to levy fines when they can't get their own business model straightened out.

[Voodoo]

I wonder what the EU market would be like without any Microsoft products. I believe if I were Microsoft, I would pull out of that market as it is far too much trouble it seems than it is worth.

[cppcrusader]

To EU: www.msdn.com

There you go Microsoft, I took care of it for you. I'll just take a check for a couple million and we'll call it even.

Seriously though, what the hell are european programmers doing that they can't use the same documentation as the rest of us? Is it not in enough languages or something?

[jBusy]

I wonder what the EU market would be like without any Microsoft products. I believe if I were Microsoft, I would pull out of that market as it is far too much trouble it seems than it is worth.

The EU is far from the only place that they have had legal issues with. I guarantee they've made much more than $357 million in profits from the EU.

[kokyunage]

Wait, you guys are defending a company that was convicted in the US as a monopoly? Typically, the EU is slow to the ball and declaring the same thing. Only they added a meaningful punishment unlike the US. If I remember correctly the US only settled for cheaper software for the state governments.

[drakkarim]

That's a friggin ton of cash. If MS were to actually pay it, where would it go?

as with all money, into the hands of greedy politicians and their cohort lawyers.

[Salesmunn]

I wonder what the EU market would be like without any Microsoft products. I believe if I were Microsoft, I would pull out of that market as it is far too much trouble it seems than it is worth.

They would be running OSX or Linux and be better off.

[BabyJesus]

Hello, I'm grandstanding.

[jacktion]

This isn't very much money for MS. It is nothing really. They are a convicted company. Convicted of being dirty. They are number one for a reason. Because they play very dirty. But I still use XP. But not Vista.

[Dr.Finger]

It's not just the $357 million, it's the threat of $3M a day in fines if MS doesn't turn over some kind of documentation to the EU.

[phantomhitman]

miscrosoft, what ever nerd wants but what every nerd denies©®™⅜۩¹

[OUX]

That's a friggin ton of cash. If MS were to actually pay it, where would it go?

The EU isn't doin so hot in their finances from what I understand, so it might be a shady legal action for some overhead.

[Kem0sabe]

357 milion is not even close to what new member states receive yearly from the EU, whatever your view on this, the EU is not doing this for cash.

[Heretic Machine]

Wait, you guys are defending a company that was convicted in the US as a monopoly?

Didn't agree with that decision either. It was a decision made by people who have never heard of Linux, and who think that Windows and OSX are one-in-the-same.

[Oddmaker]

A million would do me :)

[Skytram]

After reading all of the responses in this thread I have determined that everyone in this forum who does not sympathize with Microsoft knows jack shit about macroeconomics.

I win. End of argument. You may lock and close the thread now. :D

[OUX]

After reading all of the responses in this thread I have determined that everyone in this forum who does not sympathize with Microsoft knows jack shit about macroeconomics.

I win. End of argument. You may lock and close the thread now. :D

Sadly this is true. I think political bodies in general are simply jealous of MS because they gross more than many countries and now they want some of the scratch.

[balamoor]

Not that it would ever happen, but could you imagine how fast the EU would change it's tune if MS announced that they would no longer sell or support their product to EU member nations?

[Zeal]

Fuck the European Union.

[zyzyx]

The EU has a budget of £70 billion a year. Microsoft won't exactly be funding the EU for a year. The money will mostly go on either farming subsidies or, more likely, financial aid to the new EU member states of Bulgaria and Romania.

Simple fact is, there was a fine, it was a bit too small and MS chose to ignore it. They're paying the price for gross arrogance. Nothing more.

Also, stopping selling your products in 3 of the world's 5 biggest economies in a sulk isn't gonna get a company anywhere.

[shnastybiznastic]

Didn't agree with that decision either. It was a decision made by people who have never heard of Linux, and who think that Windows and OSX are one-in-the-same.
That's because the discernation between those operating systems means jack and shit in an antitrust case. All that they needed to prove was that MS was tying it's products together in an anticompetitive manner and using it's majoraty share in the OS field to push established competitors in a different market out. Which, I might add, any monkey can see they were doing.

The EU fine is there because MS refuses to tell the EU how some bits of their security works, which is a big fucking deal to a country, and MS's security documentation tends to look like: "here's a blackbox function, the contents don't matter".

[Skytram]

Sadly this is true. I think political bodies in general are simply jealous of MS because they gross more than many countries and now they want some of the scratch.

Really got to agree with you on this one. Not to toot my own horn or anything but... TOOT TOOT!