Slashdot Mirror
EU Prepared to Fine Microsoft $2.5 Million Per Day
Lord_Slepnir writes "The European Union is unsatisfied with Microsoft's compliance with their anti-trust compliance from 2004, and is preparing to fine them 2 million Euros ($2.5m US) per day until they comply. Under that ruling, Microsoft must open up parts of their operating system to competitors, and change how they bundle Media Player." From the article: "On Monday, Microsoft said it had begun to provide the information Brussels had demanded, but the Commission has signaled the company acted too late. In December, Brussels informed the software giant that it had failed to comply with the original ruling it issued in March 2004."
If only there were some way we could get from beneath the crushing foot of this megacorporation and have the freedom to choose. To choose the programs that met our needs, our budgets, and our requirements.
Don't forget games. Freedom of choice, within budget and all the latest games.
Oh, and hardware drivers for all modern hardware. Games, drivers and freedom.
And an mp3 player. Don't forget that either. And without having to touch the command line to register illegal repositories. That would be cool.
So to summarise: games, hardware drivers, a good mp3 player, no command line and not too expensive. That's what we need! So what's the choice again?
I'll probably be modded down for this...
if i was MS i would have said fuck it by now.. and pull out of the EU completely.. cut the jobs pull the product and stop updates to that subnet.. i mean.. that is one option. sure they can move to linux but at that point i wouldn't care.
the EU have been draging this out making it imposiable for MS to settle it.. i don't like alot of MS's pratices but here i am for them.. the EU is being very dirty.. and at this point i wish MS would just pull out and let them roll in the mud
'...if only "Jumping to a Conclusion" was an event in the Olympics.'
IT is stated in several articles that eu wants to repalce windows. The reason they are doing this is so that this new operating system will work with windows servers. They are not doing this so other programs can work on windows. get your facts straight. This is extortion. Why should microsoft have to create a competitor and put themselves out of business? Why dont you see this as wrong? Its like Nintendo being forced to make a console and giving it to sony to sell.
I think this shows the business world that the EU can't be trusted.
If the EU is just going to use this type of strong arm tactic every time they want something changed in Windows then there really isn't a point to doing business there. It reminds me of a mob movie, you either pay their protection money (opening up the source code and unbundling media player) or bad things will happen to you (2.5 mill a day in fines). It ends up being a choice between loosing control over your own business or loosing a market for that business.
I don't feel that pulling out of the EU is a good idea or even possible at the moment but if the EU continues to use this type of tactic, eventually it might be the right move.
Oh god... don't tell me I'm the first person to notice the irony that he cited the figure in US Dollars.
-
- - You can't take something off the Internet! That's like trying to take pee out of a swimming pool.
The problem is that "monopoly" has been redefined and distorted. You keep saying "their product" and that's my point. This isn't a finite resource. There is room for competitors--nothings stopping them except their own conformity.
There is no reason for Microsoft to set the standard. And even then they should not be punished for success. Especially when your goal is to build your success off of their success--that, to me, sounds like pure greed and laziness.
The other OSs need to step up to the plate, IMO. Macintosh and Firefox are only starting points. Eventually Microsoft will lose it's dominance but that will happen faster if people invest their efforts in alternative products, not constantly contributing to the same ole thing.
If Microsoft is truly so bad, make something better.
ALERT!! ALERT!!!: This post has been re-named. "LINUX Fanboys jerk themselves to death over wet dream of Microsoft pulling their business out of the EU." Continent-wide worker sick-leave was at an all time high Wednesday, as sweaty-IT-nerds lay in bed writing new blog entries based on their fantasies of a Total linux takeover of the marketplace.