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Microsoft To Be Fined E500M By European Union?
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."
Who's the hottest editor?
Cum Taco
Michael
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another Poll Troll from the PollTroll
How many fucking times must I read about the same thing over and over? Perhaps an updating feature that will simply add to older stories might be appriopriate for things like this when we get a story or two a day on the same topic. Really, I understand the needs of the linux fanboys that latch onto the MS hatred with a passion, but this is absurd. Oh, wait, I'm pissing people with mod points off... uhhh.. beowolf cluster I'd buy that for a dollar in soviet russie story posts you all your base are belong to us linux linux linux linux linux linux linux linux linux linux linux linux linux linux linux linux linux
The troll users.pl has engaged in part of a covert mission by Anti-Slash to select zealots who will be targets for modbombing. He does this by encouraging zealots to show their colors and mark the user windows as a foe. The target will then be selected from the freaks list of that user. Windows does not play a part in the operation, but his freaks list is used because of his convenient choice of user name.
Stop Anti-Slash now and mark users.pl as a foe. Also mark windows as a friend. Keep yourself off the list of targets for the trolls at Anti-Slash to strike.
Remember, the goal of Anti-Slash is not to protect your freedoms but to destroy Slashdot. Fight them. Don't let yourself become a target of their evil and childish ways.
EU: Hi Bill, want another blowjob?
:(
Bill: Sure, I could go for one of those.
*10 minutes later*
EU: People don't seem like me giving you blowjobs
Bill: So, lets go through some crazy legal proceedings, then slap my company with a fine we can make back in less than a year!
EU: Brilliant!
Backbone_My_Ass. The ONLY reason the EU is letting MS off the hook is that MS has the EU by the nuts; if the sourcecode got released, within a week windows would be unusable.
Candy-Coated Knowledge
For being sucessful.
God knows in the USA that has become a crime.
I am very small, utmostly microscopic.
Yes, I was reading about that on the news services. Israel and their minders, the US, have yet to realize that you don't attain peace with covert murders and lies. Israel is a contrived, racist country with only one friend on the plane: the US.
(n/t)
It's spelled H I T L E R. And it means the thread is over. O V E R ! ! !
Godwyn must be rolling in his grave!
I'm so sick of all you US-hating, Europe-loving liberals. If you like it so much, FSCKING MOVE THERE. Oh wait, then you'd have to pay $4 a gallon for gasoline, and 18% sales tax on everything, but you'd get free medical care that you'd have to wait years to receive, and a free education which is worth, well, exactly what you pay for it.
Put the flamethrower down, I've lived there. I've worked there. Both the UK and the Continent. How about you? Been anywhere other than a backpacker hostel? Hmm, I thought so.
Lets see, what has Europe produced in the last century or so?
Colonialism
2 world wars
Communism
Socialism
You fucked up the Middle East with your stupid dismantling of the Ottoman Empire
You fucked up Africa
You want 'faith in humanity'? Of course you do, since your whole philosophical system rests on faith. Faith and Force, the destroyers of the modern world. Al Qaeda has faith that Allah will smile on them, you have faith that your inherently broken economic system will work 'somehow'.
Please, go join the world you're advocating, and leave the rest of us alone. 100% alone - no coming for handouts, no bailing out of wars, nothing.
I want to delete my account but Slashdot doesn't allow it.
all it will do is cause price increases, When I buy an OS I expect things like a media player/browser ect not lots of barely compatible junk to be installed (real player, quicktime ect) I wonder why MS keeps getting the brunt of it when linux distro's and macs come with way more software than windows anyway.
I can't see how they possible use there windows market to create a monopoly in another market anyway, windows has always come with a media player its one of the reasons lots of people by it.
Gephardt would have doubled the size of Homeland Security. Kerry supported the war in Iraq.
Politicians like power, which is why EU officials enjoy looting Microsoft's coffers and taking money that belongs to shareholders. Americans should be almost as outraged as by the importation of Canadian socialized healthcare pharmaceutical price controls.
Amazing magic tricks
It is a shakedown pure and simple
1: find an unpopular foreign company with lots of money
2: take some it
pray tell how seizing this much of someone else's money when there is zero risk of retaliation takes courage?
who benefits from this? certainly not Microsoft or American and certainly not EU consumers (as no behavior changes are required). The only beneficiaries are the EUrocrats who get to line their pockets
i do not understand why slashdotters think this is 'A Good Thing'(TM)
Microsoft is a tollbooth on legitimate innovation.
So is your mom!
Sh3's oFF teh sp0Ke!
Things like this are what make me hate Slashdot sometimes. Instead of focusing on the actual issues, it turns into an anti-MS circle-jerk and all reason gets thrown out the window.
OMG MAKE THE GOVERNMENT SHUT THEM DOWN AND MAKE THEM OPEN SOURCE ALL THEIR CODE AND GIVE PRODUCTS AWAY AND NOT BUNDLE ANYTHING AND TAKE ALL THEIR MONEY THAT WILL SHOW THEM!!!111
Christ, you people are fucking morons sometimes.
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.
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
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.