Microsoft Has No Plans to Appeal EU Fine
Microsoft has said that it will not appeal the €561 million fine it was handed by the European Union today. The European Union imposed a €561 million fine on Microsoft for failing to offer the browser ballot screen it promised to ship with all versions of Windows. The ballot screen is a pop-up designed to give customers the ability to choose which browser they want to use to surf the web. The Redmond, Washington-based software giant said today that it accepts full responsibility for its mistake.
"We take full responsibility for the technical error that caused this problem and have apologized for it," Microsoft said in a statement released today. "We provided the Commission with a complete and candid assessment of the situation, and we have taken steps to strengthen our software development and other processes to help avoid this mistake – or anything similar – in the future."
The European Commission said today that the fine, equal to approximately $730 million, was calculated with the consideration of the gravity and duration of the infringement as well as Microsoft's cooperation on the matter.
Microsoft's offering of the browser choice screen is the result of an 2009 antitrust investigation conducted by the Euorpean Union. Europe felt that bundling Internet Explorer with Windows was anti-competitive and argued that, because Windows is the most common operating system, it was unfair for Microsoft force all users to use IE without first informing them of their options.
Microsoft estimated last July that around 90 percent of computers received the BCS software as planned. As for the remaining 10 percent, the company said it began developing a fix one business day after the problem was discovered. A day after that, the company began distributing the BCS software to Windows 7 SP1 PCs that missed out on the software the first time around.
Speaking in a statement issued today, Commission Vice President in charge of competition policy, Joaquín Almunia, said that legally binding commitments reached in EU antitrust decisions play "a very important role in [the EU's] enforcement policy because they allow for rapid solutions to competition problems." Almunia went on to say that a failure to comply is a serious infringement and must be sanctioned accordingly.
Exactly! I have no idea what the EU's problem is. Last time I checked: when I bought a Ford, I wasn't asked if I wanted Hyundai floor mats instead!
Exactly! I have no idea what the EU's problem is. Last time I checked: when I bought a Ford, I wasn't asked if I wanted Hyundai floor mats instead!
and add in setup of Windows ask user "Do you want install Internet Explorer" yes or no
or release version of Windows without IE installed, nobody going to buy this
As for this fine, I fail to see as to how Microsoft's opposition was THAT affected. We're not stupid over here - we do know how to go looking for browsers, and I'm sure most level headed individuals wouldn't mind using IE in a limited fashion in order to procure their ideal browser...
Europeans need to be told what to do because of decades of socialist policies. /sarcasm
EU just wants money, like all governments. And we keep letting them get away with it too.
I dont recall Apple forcing their software on any third party hardware, Apple only does this on the hardware that they brand. Microsoft should not be allowed to force their OS on any PC OEM, or any version of their OS. The US government has turned a blind eye tords the M$ monopoly for too long and M$ should be banned from being able to dictate its OS, or version of OS on any third party OEM's computers. It is time to break up the M$ octopus!
3rd party isn't even allowed to sell hardware with Apple stuff, talk about strongarming...
Since when has MS forced OEM to not sell anything. Dell has for years sold PCs without Windows. I have bought a Gateway PC without Windows. There are nearly a dozen OEMs selling Chromebooks now.
Let's see...how many OEMs sell PCs loaded with MacOS? Oh, NONE! OEMs can't even make a Windows PC that looks like a Mac. Why? Apple would sue. And Apple has a much deeper pocket than OEMs.
These OEMs are free to install another OS, too, for that matter. Basically, MS does not do what you accuse them of. You clearly have no idea what a REAL monopoly looks like, but that's because you're a product of modern society - spoiled, self-entitled, and willfully ignorant.
The EU is broke
Funny how everyone complains about the fine (it is a penalty to discourage Big Corporate misbehavin' again!); and this from the Land where people file $100.000.000 lawsuits over hot coffee and such.
If Microsoft wants to do business in EU (which they obviously do, otherwise they would simply abandon EU without paying any fine), it has to comply with whatever crap EU imposes. The choice is Microsoft's, no one is forcing MS to remain in the EU market.
I'm not advocating EU regulations, but MS was given enough time to do something about the situation and they failed. That's why they have to pay the fine. Not because they ship IE in Windows.
According to Wikipedia, EU's budget is "€864.3 billion for the period 2007–2013". The fine is like 0.05 per cent of it (or 0.4% of annual budget). What a grab!
Edit: sorry, I fail at maths sometimes.
My set up my antivirus so it will not even let IE to connect to the internet. Firefox all the way!
Also it seems that American but-hurt nature comes to surface when they need to comply with other country (EU) rules. Maybe you could send some drones for defensive attack.