On Tue, Mar 23, 2004 at 07:37:10AM -0800, Number Six wrote:
> Even though I still have a bunch of stock, and I'm a linux lover now, so
> I cheer if it goes up and I cheer if it goes down, I was expecting
> Europe to really nail Microsoft to the wall. I dunno, I expected some
> surrogate America-bashing, or just a really f-you to an American
> company. Even though it's a record for the EU, it's a pittance to
> Microsoft and will be barely noticed.
>
> What happened? Do they just have not much power? Why so light?
My understanding is that the main point of the ruling was not so much
the dollar amount of the fine, but the ruling that MS must unbundle
Media Player AND open up all the undocumented 'features' and 'standards'
in Windows so that competitors' apps get a level playing field.
Given that, the fine is just icing, and keeping it well below the
theoretical maximum was probably a very good move, because it'll make it
that much harder for MS to claim (during the inevitable appeals) that
the ruling is unreasonable.
Groklaw has an interesting look at this issue, connecting it with the MS
vs. Lindows situation and others:
http://www.groklaw.net/article.php?story=200403222317271
Cheers!
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