Interesting developments in the European Union's anti-trust case against Microsoft. The EU has fined M$ with a record $1.3 BILLION due to the interoperability issues and extraordinarily high "fees" charged to developers wanting to make applications compatible with the Windows desktop operating systems.

LINK!

It may have taken the EU a little over 4 years to render a fine big enough to get M$'s attention regarding their closed source policies, but here it is and no amount of "creative accounting" is going to lessen the huge dent this will make in profits.

Is a similiar decision about Intel's anti-trust activities far behind?

Didn't they already fine M$ like 740million? And are forcing M$ to make a version of Windows without WMP and release their software to companies?
 
I understand why M$ doesn't want to release Vistas Kernal to companies as thats how anti-virus software makers create viruses of course to gain sales.
 
Kinda seems like the EU wont be happy until M$ has another OS that has big enough market shares and messes up the OS market there big time. They don't think about compatability issues with different OS's.
 
I wounder if they will go afte Apple since they pretty much own the market on MP3 players since they know how to advertise very well. I can see them going after Intel and fining them.
 
My only question is where does the money go? Does it go to software developers or to the EU's pocket? If its the latter then thats just greed.

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Sounds an awful like double jeopardy...

So if I read the story correctly the EU is saying that MS cannot make any real money on their patents. The company can use them and make 1 million but M$ only gets $4K?
 
Wow thats kinda weird. Its like saying you own the rights to a certain design and a company can use it and make billions but only give you a few thousand even though you came up with the idea. sad really.

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Based on their financials, a billion dollar fine (if they ever actually paid it) really wouldn't hurt Microsoft or Intel very much. Microsoft had 14 Billion in net income and Intel had 7 Billion last year alone.

They only want their hands on American money. They don't realize that Gates has enough money to wage an actual war.

 
LMAO..... Thats a good one.... and with the money he does have can probably take the EU down without a problem. France first for the ease of it then the rest.

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Please tell me you're joking!!  
 

In essence, what you have said is right, but MS don't get just $4k, there are not figures on that news article.  
They have told MS that they needed to (3years ago) that they needed to reduced they're fees (which are basically for information) and MS didn't hence the fine. All it has done (from what I can see) is reduced the royalties developers (in the EU) have to pay to access MS information.
They will never directly hand over $1.3billion to the EU though, the fine will in all likelihood, be paid in other ways.

And people always thought "If its yours, do anything you want"...
EU trying to prove em wrong... *lol*
5 years until theres not a single computer sold into Europe -.-

Let the French eat Linux

Hardly....    
Where are there more customers for MS (based on population, not actual sales!) North America or Europe?
Anyhow, we'll still have computers, they just won't be running an MS Operating System!  

I think the EU is just anti US big business.  I wonder how much annoyance the big businesses will tolerate before slowing exports to the EU or ignoring their complaints.  
 
This Microsoft fine is actually just an increased fine due to the fact that Microsoft ignored the EU previously.  Imagine the EU as a little 5 year old crying "You're not playing fair.  Gimme!"  As most of the people in the EU (even the socialist swedes) use Microsoft based products, I doubt the EU would actually ever block Microsoft from selling product there just because they haven't paid the EU mob their fee.  As the dollar goes down, Microsoft actually does itself a world of good by not paying as the fine is in US dollars
 
Intel's already being abused by the EU (remember the raid just a little bit ago).  Meh, don't think this matters too much.  Until Intel or Microsoft have a competitor that can even come close to them, I think they'll treat any EU threat in a sleepy manner.  

True,  
 
Much of what the EU does is to sponser "competition".
It does not really matter of doing something wrong.
It's a matter of being too much better than your competition.
 
A near socialist entity that wants successful companies to assist its competitors directly instead of treating them as competitors.

I think the fine was actually in euros, its just converted into dollars so you yankees could understand it better.

 
 
PLEASE - before you lot start talking ****, do the most rudimentary of research.
 
 
The EU carry out all sorts of actions against businesses within Europe on a continual basis to prevent monopolistic practice to the detriment of the consumer.  
 
 
http://ec.europa.eu/comm/competiti [...] nr_75.html
 
 
A few other examples. Are Air France an American company? Or Yamaha? Or Lufthansa? or Telefónica?
 
 
http://ec.europa.eu/comm/competition/index_en.html

Sooo.. it took the EU 4 years.  How many years have they been working on Intel?

They've only changed the royalties percentages in Europe, worldwide they remain the same. Why is it that the EC are the only ones that decided 3.87% for patent licensing and 2.98% for access to communication source was outrageous? Why haven't we heard from US regulatory groups? Or anyone else for that matter? 0.7, 0.5, 0.4%? Give me a break... Microsoft didn't come to that decision with a smile on it's face, but in response to the 'gun to head' effect of billions in fines looming.... oh wait..... they got fined anyway.
 
I second the question of 'where does the money go?'. This isn't chump change. How much of this can be potentially skimmed with 'grey' numbers? (remember food for oil and the billions being pocketed there? maybe that's apples to oranges, but it still makes you think)
 
I'm not trying to defend Microsoft for the sake of it being Microsoft, I'm just trying to understand this from a business/regulatory perspective.

If the money from Intel goes solely to AMD, that could be perfect.  It would give AMD the cash injection they need.  I am no expert about this... EU... but I doubt it goes anywhere but to them.  I thought we are working toward democracy and capitalism, not socialism.  Don't get me wrong, there are some things that socialism could be good for, I just don't think it is good for commercial or corporate uses.
 
Also, they are asking companies that are based on the capitalistic idealism to think as EU does… why not the other way around?  Intel and MS should fine the EU, see how they like it!

I wonder what the EU does with the money?  Are they going to send a monkey to mars?