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Microsoft To Be Fined E500M By European Union?

Posted by simoniker on from the loadsa-money dept.

An anonymous reader writes "According to a Reuters story, the European Commission is in the process of fining Microsoft 497 million Euros ($613 million). The most important reason for the fine was the refusal by Microsoft to share more information about its products with competitors. Mario Monti, the EU competition commissioner, decided to impose the fine after talks with Microsoft broke down last week." The last estimate was a mere 100 million Euros, and it's noted: "If the full European Commission backs the fine as expected on Wednesday it would exceed the 462 million euro penalty imposed on Hoffman-La Roche AG in 2001 for being ringleader of a vitamin cartel."

4 of 1,029 comments (clear)

  1. MOD PARENT DOWN FOR CONTINING THREAD WHICH IS OVER by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Troll

    (n/t)

  2. Re:Peering into my crystal ball... by Shakrai · · Score: 1, Troll
    You think Germany had to use all of its forces to invade Poland? Think again.

    Yes, actually they did. The German military was not ready for war in 1939. Hitler promised his Generals that he wouldn't go to war until full rearmament had been completed (it would have been in 1946) but he couldn't wait. The Germans had to use something like 85% of their front-line forces to conquer Poland. The "myth" of the Blitzkrieg has the Germans overrunning Poland in a few days -- guess what? When they got to Warsaw it deteriorated into an old fashion artillery siege that took weeks to settle.

    Furthermore if you bothered to read military history you'd know that in 1939 the French had a stronger military then the Germans anyway. That's the French all by themselves -- not counting the other allied powers.

    So yes, if the French had showed a little balls and taken some initiative when the Germans attacked Poland WW2 would probably have been over in a year tops. History would certainly be very different. No holocost, no seven year World War with 56,000,000 deaths, no conquest of Eastern Europe by Stalin and probably no war in the Pacific either.

    But instead of actually doing something to help their allies (the Poles) the French declared war and then sat around and waited to be attacked. The French acted like complete cowards and humanity paid the price for it.

    --
    I want peace on earth and goodwill toward man.
    We are the United States Government! We don't do that sort of thing.
  3. Re:Oh, please... by mattcasters · · Score: 0, Troll

    Just because someone else kills people it's OK for you to do so?

    I don't think so, 2 wrongs don't make it right.

    OK, and were do these numbers come from anyway?

    --
    News about the Kettle Open Source project: on my blog
  4. Re:And he'd be right about WMD by LittleBigLui · · Score: 0, Troll

    Yeah, but judging by the geographic skills that USians (stereo)typically exhibit, they'll probably bomb austria or romania instead.

    (Yes, I know that the latter isn't even an EU member (yet)).

    --
    Free as in mason.