"Rather than supporting Europe as the innovation capital of the world, the commission's policies unchecked may turn the EU into the litigation capital of the world"

Hahaha ... like Microsoft has never considered suing anyone before.

""In a just-published article, Microsoft has publicly acknowledged that it has 235 patents that read on open source technology," a Microsoft spokesperson said in a statement e-mailed to internetnews.com."

Shit don't stink.

And mine smells of roses! ;)

So the buyer of software will have to pay more for Microsoft products? Does that mean that Vista Ultimate will cost even more that the stupifying amount of £399 (that's the RRP, though Amazon UK are selling for £320)?

MSFT moaning about freedom of enterprise! My ar**!

According to them innovation means "buy Windows, or better buy more Windows".

Thanks but no, thanks...

The amount of the fine is small compared to the extra profits that it has made but preventing competition. The sensible thing for M$ to do is to continue to delay and then fail to document their stuff properly (whoops - there seem to be typeos, we will fix them in the next release). Once a monopolist, they will always have that mentality.

>>> This decision encourages competitors to bring legal action against each other rather than compete aggressively in the marketplace.

Well that neatly sums up Microsofts attitude to competition - sue it to death ! Microsoft should just stop whining and get on with life.

Sorry, but the USA is light-years ahead in that domain and will be holding that particular crown for centuries to come. No worry for the Commission on that point, at all.

... see the funny side in Microsoft posting the videos of the Press conference on their site in .wmf format?

They've been slapped to the tune of around 777m Euros for not ipeining up with details of their proprietary protocols, so they post files about it in... a proprietary format.

It makes you wonder if we have yet reached the point where public authoritities should be banned from using MS products on the basis that they shouldn't swell the profits of a thrice-sanctioned predatory monopolist... racketeering, anyone?

MS just doesn't seem to accept or even to recognise that they are NOT above the law, no matter what the senior execs at Redmond might think... and I agree that they shouldn't benefit from their unlawful behaviour or their delaying tactics, the fine should be quadrupled and their assets sequestered until they pay up.

CompTIA, huh? Glad I read this. For a couple years now, I've been thinking about getting some certifications. Not that it means anything at all, but some companies like to see that paper. After reading this, I'll definitely avoid getting those certifications, and avoid giving any kind of financial support to CompTIA. I'd rather be a bagger at the grocery store than support a company who is in Microsoft's pocket.

... today released a statement in which they denied being front organisations for Microsoft. Their joint spokespuppet, A. Sock, announced "There is no hand up my arse, and in any case, even if there was, I am glad to enjoy the innovation and substantially improved performance that Microsoft products shove up... err I mean bring to me".

Why can't I ever hear talk of "valuable intellectual property" without being reminded of Brigadier General Jack D. Ripper from Dr. Strangelove?

Apparently Robert Robert Wexler, chairman of the Europe subcommittee of the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Foreign Affairs said that "It would be disastrous if the court's decision against Microsoft leads to a deluge of new antitrust cases in Brussels, which appears to already be starting," but forgot to tell people that Microsoft have bunged him over $41K over the past few years.

Similarily David Reichert of Washington said that "'This ruling sets a dangerous precedent that says Europe is closed for business to those companies who invest the capital and resources necessary to lead a market," and "It sets a dangerous precedent for not only other high-tech companies, but any company that wishes to do business in Europe." but forgot to remind people that Microsoft have bunged him over $80K in the past 3 years.

Now I know we say things about corruption within the EU but its not often that blatant

"MS just doesn't seem to accept or even to recognise that they are NOT above the law."

There's very good reason for that. It's because history has shown that Microsoft *IS* above the law. They are allowed to do whatever they please. Look at the farce that was the U.S. DOJ vs Microsoft antitrust trial. The "settlement" was to give Microsoft even more money (in the form of forcing people to purchase more MS products in order to receive a "discount" coupon as a settlement).

I have no reason to believe that the EU is in any position to threaten Microsoft. As much as I hate Microsoft and its practices, what can the EU/EC really do? Lock MS out of the market? The various countries and businesses won't stand for that. They can't. Locking out MS would literally destroy many businesses who would no longer be able to run their software (either now or once their machines need to be upgraded). You have a lot of FOSS advocates saying that anyone can switch, but that's simply not true. There are a great many companies that simply cannot run without the software they're using now, which is not available under UNIX or Linux. Not to mention the cost of retraining, etc. What's the real possible recourse if MS simply refuses to pay? Nothing, as far as I can see. Of course, that's why you don't let a company become such a huge monopoly in the first place...

>> What's the real possible recourse if MS simply refuses to pay? Nothing,

Well the problem for Microsoft is that it has offices, investments and money tied up in the EU and could very well have all that frozen, raided and have anything of value confiscated; and the quaint possibility of criminal arrests for the bosses should they ever set foot in the EU. There are a whole host of things that could be done and I gather Microsoft dare not loose the EU market at all because even a theoretical ban would damage an already pro open source market position.

Besides have you never heard that necessity is the mother of invention? I have a funny feeling that if Microsoft windows were removed from every computer tomorrow by some magic; next week we'd have business apps running on ubuntu.