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Microsoft Finally Bows to EU Antitrust Measures

Posted by CmdrTaco on from the thats-a-lot-of-cash dept.

Rogue Pat writes "Microsoft ended three years of resistance on Monday and finally agreed to comply with a landmark 2004 antitrust decision by the European Commission. Competitors will be able to buy interface protocols for 10.000 Euro to make their software work better with Windows. Moreover, Microsoft won't appeal the 500 million Euro fine any further."

6 of 365 comments (clear)

  1. This is Great! by MrCrassic · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Maybe we can finally see some competitive open-source software platforms, like a better Evolution client (full Exchange capability, maybe?) or a better OpenOffice.org?

  2. any takers by shortscruffydave · · Score: 5, Interesting

    <NotFlameBait>

    The courts have made Microsoft make those protocols available. It will be interesting to see how many people actually pony up to buy those protocol specs - in part, that would be a measure of how valid the EU's judgement was.

    </NotFlameBait>

  3. 2 questions by jonwil · · Score: 5, Interesting

    1.What exactly does this cover? Which network protocols? Which data formats?
    and 2.Does the license exclude OSS/GPL or have Microsoft finally been forced into allowing GPL software to use its "secret sauce"?

  4. Tax Euros put to work? by AlXtreme · · Score: 4, Interesting

    So, how about the EU uses a very small portion of those fines (say, a nominal one-off payment of E 10000) to obtain these documents once and publish them for all us open source developers via a new sourceforge.net project?

    I'm all for interoperability, but it's not like I'm going to pay $10000 for half-undocumented Microsoft protocols. At least a small portion of all those millions would be put to good use, instead of it all disappearing into the black hole that is the EU budget.

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  5. Only one taker by flyingfsck · · Score: 5, Interesting

    The Samba project will likely buy a copy. Everyone else will simply use Samba then as before. I don't think MS will recover their fine from selling that specification.

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    Excuse me, but please get off my Pennisetum Clandestinum, eh!
  6. Re:Took long enough... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Uh. The USA is a LOT closer to folding than the EU. The EU, not the USA, is the largest economy in the world, and while people in europe might disagree with the european union as it stands, they tend to be pro-european-unity (just not governed by the current idiots. Sound familiar?)

    Actually, it might be best for the world if the USA defederated and the relatively sane states joined the EU or Canada, leaving the inbred christrian fundamentalist nutter states to die.