As predicted, Microsoft have been fined 497 Million Euros ($613m, £331m). This is approximately 8% of the profit Microsoft makes in Europe. EU Competition Commissioner Mario Monti is giving Microsoft 90 days to comply with the ruling which states Microsoft must make a seperate version of Windows without Windows Media Player for Europe and within 120days show some of their code for Windows.
Microsoft have stated they will appeal against the decision and legal battles will likely last years.
A harsh decision by the EU but one that reflects attitudes to Microsofts monopoly of the desktop PC market. Maybe Mario Monti is secretly working on a case against Apple who bundle Quicktime and iTunes (a dominate music service) in their Apple OSX operating system. Such a move is fair since iTunes dominates the market share of online music services. Should the EU force Microsoft to comply this will damage Microsofts advance into digital media across Europe.
View: BBC Article
News source: In-House
