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Windows 7 for XP ProfessionalsUpdating Support Skills from XP to Windows 7by Bink.nu's Raymond Comvalius
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Well, here it is...[:$]
The European Commission fined Microsoft 280.5 million euros ($357.3 million) on Wednesday to punish its failure to comply with a landmark 2004 antitrust ruling.
The tough new penalty is the first of its kind and comes on top of a record 497 million euro fine the Commission imposed on Microsoft in March 2004 for abusing its dominant position.
The fine covers the period from December 16 last year, the deadline set by EU regulators for Microsoft to make available key information to rivals, to June 20. It was computed by multiplying 187 days of violations at 1.5 million euros per day.
"Microsoft has still not put an end to its illegal conduct. I have no alternative but to levy penalty payments for this continued non-compliance," Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes said.
The fine fell short of a possible maximum 2 million euros per day. If Microsoft fails to comply with the Commission ruling by July 31, it would face a maximum possible fine of 3 million euros per day.
Microsoft says it has made huge efforts to comply with the Commission's 2004 ruling and has 300 people working to meet the EU executive's requirements by July 18. It calls the fine unjustified, but says that will not slow its effort to comply.
In 2004, the Commission ruled Microsoft squeezed out rivals by withholding information that would help them make server software that could run as smoothly on Microsoft's ubiquitous Windows operating system as its own server software does.
The Commission had ordered Microsoft to provide that information by June 2004.
But Microsoft's offerings failed to meet its standards. One of the company's remedies was judged by a special Commission representative as "fundamentally flawed."
I dont understand why the EU started fining Microsoft a few weeks before the last of the documentation was even due... I hope the EU high courts overrule the EU antitrust authorities, I mean it's one thing to punish Microsoft it's another to use Microsoft as the EU's whipping boy so it can show off it's new "power".
Microsoft should just pull all licences for Microsoft Products to the EU Commission, and let Microsoft Punish them or give them the option that they want so bad. Possably even all Microsoft Licesnces for all affected products in hte EU then maybe some one will stand up to this abuse of power by the EU...
Microsoft cant do that, it's first responsibility is to make the shareholders money and the shareholders wouldnt be happy if Microsoft just pulled out of Europe.