http://www.news.com/8301-10784_3-9880256-7...amp;tag=nl.e703

I wonder why no one posted this before...

The EU's latest action against Microsoft for violating antitrust sanctions has amounted to 899,000,000 € (or about $1.35 billion).

CNET has a poll based on this, and about 56% of people voted for "too little". I voted on that myself. I think the EU should have taken initiative for the US and Canada and raised it to 1.4 bn€ (billion euros), in my opnion. Microsoft has been violating people's privacy and trust for too long. Even Zune and iPod are mortal enemies when it comes to file formats. Microsoft has been keeping too many secrets (possibly more than even the US government), and it's time that they started to stop starting to monopolize (let's see if your heads can get around that last statement; I'll recommend you to Google) by cutting off users' retreats and forcing them to buy their products. I mean, come on. That's more of an "anti-push" factor (pushing other users out of other businesses into their own) than a "pull" factor, and anti-push factors are illegal.

What do you think?

This post has been edited by tricky77puzzle: Feb 29 2008, 10:13 PM

I think you may be off by a few zeroes in the Euro amount

Anyway, the real point is that this isn't over yet. The European Union has said that it will go after Microsoft again numerous times. One thing they think is anticompetitive is the fact that the Microsoft operating system comes bundled with Microsoft's browser (many users are too lazy to research other browsers and Microsoft ends up getting them to use their products right from the start). Many also think that the EU will try to go against the Microsoft-Yahoo deal if it actually goes through.

To tell you the truth, I think the EU is just using Microsoft as a scapegoat for US companies and business practices. I think the requirements that the EU have put on Microsoft in the past are frankly dumb. Windows XP N edition anyone? Microsoft provides a free media player with their operating system, as does Mac and any number of linux distributions. Somehow providing a free service is anti-competitive? In my opinion that is just Microsoft doing a good job of shipping a product that the user will be able to use and be happy with.

Note, I'm not anti-EU or anything, I just think they tend to penalize US businesses to a greater degree. Both Microsoft and Google have been or may be subject to various EU regulations that I find ill-thought out and rather pointless.

I'd say to little, at least double the amount. Microsoft can pay any fine, so why not make it so why not take enough money which is useful?

Fixed.

I wonder if the EU will penalize Google any time soon... maybe for being too good at math?

Yeah, Microsoft is really rich, but that doesn't mean they should pay more. Plus, Bill and Melinda Gates donate a ton of money to really good charities, and I think that's a much better place for money to go than to the EU. Plus, it's not like fining Microsoft is going to fix anything anyway, if you really actually care and aren't just being greedy, then you'd take actual actions against Microsoft. Plus, I seriously don't think Microsoft is being really monopolistic. People can still buy Macs and other stuff, and though Vista is really expensive, and I think that's dumb, there are other companies who sell software much more because their software is one-of-a-kind. Does that make them a monopoly? Microsoft isn't the only choice if you're looking to buy computer software and stuff, and they're not being abusive with their considerable market share (okay, well I admit that's debatable, but whatever), so I don't see why a conglomerate of foreign countries should care. Period.

1.35 billion dollars is not much of a fine, microsoft just made a bidd of 40 billion dollars to buy the yahoo company, bill gates makes a lot more money a month or in even less time.

This fine is a joke, at least to me, a fine to bill gates or microsoft, as you want, would about 50 to 100 billion dollars, that would scare him a bit, but then, perhaps today he has a lot more then that, who knows in fact!

But, besides the fact that this is true or not, monopolization or whatever, if you had a company, you would do almost anything to make it develop, to make it stronger, to make it solid and all over the world, and that is what bill gates made of microsoft till today, and obviously, when someone puts his company this strong, this big, without competition almost, or at least with not much competition, the small, angry with their situation, angry because they did not succeed with their business/company/product/service, does what almost anyone does, they say they are monopolizing the entire market, but that is just what they tried to do and did not succeed.


Perhaps i did not explain like i should but think about it, microsoft has the entire market under control because they they succeeded with their business, with their products, with their services, so i ask you, if you had a company like microsoft would you do something bad to your company, for instance, to reduce the control of the market, would you reduce your sales, would you reduce your profits, would you do this kind of things to your company? I do not think so, you would keep fighting untill you conquered the really 100% of the market and succeded over all your competitors, like google and yahoo, which are the microsoft first hand competitors.

I am in the side of microsoft, i would do the same thing to or for my company because besides it is my work, it is my life, what i love to do.

Sure you'd want to make your company prosper. This is all good and Microsoft should keep doing that. The only problem people see with it is the methods that they're using. I mean, sure Microsoft wants people to keep using their products, but they shouldn't make it incompatible with everything esle once they have a portion of the market share. That's real monopolization., and that's what Microsoft is doing now. They refuse to follow standards because they want to be the standard. That's wrong, in my opinion.