Whoa..That Must Hurt..Gates
 

Ouch..Sorry if it was a repost but that must hurt..

Microsoft has paid the $600 million fine handed down by the European Commission in its antitrust ruling against the company.

Representatives of the Redmond, Wash.-based software giant confirmed Friday that Microsoft deposited the payment in an escrow account while the company's appeal is taking place. While Microsoft had the option of submitting a promissory note in place of such a payout until proceedings are complete, the company dipped into its massive cash reserves, estimated at $50 billion, to cover the largest antitrust fine ever levied against a company by the European Union.

In March, European regulators ordered Microsoft to remove its Media Player software from its Windows operating system and pay the fine, imposed because of what the Commission ruled to be unfair business practices. However, the EU has suspended the judgment while the company's appeal goes forward.

Eric Mamer, a spokesman for budget-related issues at the Commission, said the transaction proceeded as expected and that Microsoft had adhered to all the provisions of its regulators' ruling. Mamer indicated that it was not unusual for companies to pay cash to cover such a penalty, and said about half of all organizations paying fines to the EC do the same.

In his ruling, European Competition Commissioner Mario Monti said that Microsoft had failed to provide its rivals with information that they needed to compete fairly in the market for server software. Monti also said that the company's practice of offering Windows on the condition that it come bundled with Windows Media Player stifled competition.

Also this week, Microsoft enjoyed big wins on the legal front in the United States. On Wednesday, a U.S. Appeals Court upheld Microsoft's landmark

I dont get monopoly laws. As the owner of small businesses I guess maybe I should care... But I dont. Shit if you got the power to "own" then so be it. What is this bullshit?

600 mill.

nice

looks like gates only has 38.5 billion now

I guess it is chump change for Billy boy

$600 milllion!? :eek2

dayum!

pocket change for BG.

I think its a bit fucked actually.. you own the rights to Windows, so you distro it with Windows Media Player, you dont like it? Don't fucking use it... yet they had to pay $600mil in fies.. usually i'm on whatever side M$ isn't but in this case I think it's fubar.

man i wish i could drop 600 mil like it was nothing...

Yeah I agree. I also look at it like this. I'm a small business owner, and we all want to kill the competition. That's what success is, when you're kicking the competitions ass. Like when Microsoft killed Netscape. That wasn't any evil-doing from MS, that was the beauty of caplitalism. I really hated back in Windows 95 when I had to download a 3rd party browser via FTP just to be able to surf the net. Do you think your grandma could do that? Do you think your grandma knows what an FTP client is? Hell no! And the majority of computer users think just like Grandma. That's the beauty of having Microsoft GIVE you a browser instead of having that crappy peice of shit Netscape had created.

It's kinda like going and buying a car, but finding out it doesn't come with seats. Same for Windows Media player. Fuck 3rd party media players. Fuck REAL Media, those spyware fuckwad fuck-your-computer-to-hell-and-back idiots.

600 M. brings a tear to my eye.

I wonder if Bill even blinked :winkwink:

He cares about those numbers, trust me he cares.

That's only a slight dent for him.

When you buy an operating system, you expect it to operate. Totally retarded, this suit was. If you aren't able to install software you'd be sitting there with no way to play audio/video files. If you do know how to install software you probably already have Winamp or some other favored player installed.

If you don't want Microsoft products installed on your computer, don't start with Windows.:2 cents:

this is pocket change to them.

they have paid I think 3 billion in fines/settlements lately.

they got virtually unlimited money.

My friend is in the Treasury over there at MSFT. They have an enourmous amount of money, and a whole group of people dedicated to making it earn the most while its sitting there.

Woah 600 mill ? that's fucking huge . Didn't thought they would suffer that much

i dunno like

if the shit they are putting out starts to suck incredibly bad people will quit using it

firefox is becoming more and more of a force in the browser contention

Fuck, 600 million is nothing for Bill....

I remember when he got married and someone asked him if he realized that by not having a pre-nup that Melinda could take half of his wealth. His reply was pretty much..... So what, half of everything is STILL everything!

Shit.... 600 million.... he won't even miss it.

Wait for Novell to wrap up MS in a real big one. WordPerfect and then maybe Active Directory???

I agree.

Also, having WMP already on there doesn't prevent someone from installing a different 3rd party piece of software if they want to use something else.

it doesn't even make a dent on him.

poor bill, gonna hafta wait another 2 days to get that island he's had his eye on :(

you were bad at math in school Spunky ? ?

I have $50 in my pocket and a bum asks me for 50 cents , now how would it hurt me giving out 50 cents with $50 in my pocket ?:question


I also think this ruling is bullshit , they offer total solutions , that is what they sell TOTAL FUCKIN SOLUTIONS !!!

it is their fault people sell what they sell separate ? ?


if you take this to non computer , it would be like mercedes benz gets sued by a company that only sells carseats for using their own carseats standard in the cars they deliver...

someone should teach these courts what is fair and what not

amen

Pretty much. It would be like Mercedes-benz not allowing other companies to know how to make a seat that actually fits the car.

That sucks for people who'd like other seats aside from the standard as well as manufacturers of the other seats.

I do understand the logic behind this judgement..

As I read this thread, I mentally drew up a flaming reply, but the quoted post already says what I feel about it perfectly.

While I don't like MS, this penalty is not fair, and it is operating on communist logic that doesn't make sense. It is a stab against success motivated by deep jealousy and inferiority complexes.

:feels-hot

i wonder if gates will worry about that.

Monoply laws were not written with software in mind; they used to protect consumers and encourage innovation by keeping markets open to competition, but they are simply being mis-applied in Microsoft's case. A problem with following the letter of the law, rather than the spirit of the law. :2 cents:

pocket change!

May be. but he is still way too rich.

What does being bad at math have to do with it? That still is a dent regardless..although Billy boy would probably make that back in a couple weeks

Nah, may Bill rack up billions more. He already gives an incredible amount to charity and says he's leaving it all to charity.

They aren't being mis-applied, they're fundamentally flawed. The idea of creating freedom (an "open market") by taking away freedom doesn't make sense at all.

$600 million out of their $50 billion?

nah, I don't think that hurt much at all actually.

For Gates, a $600 million fine is just a slap on the wrist.

I don't get it either. But watch MS go and learn. When governments try to control businesses, it's the corporation that'll end up winning and controlling the government for their own interests. You'll see.

I'm pretty sure Bill Gates isn't loosing any sleep over it.

Selling an operating system without a video player or a broswer is like selling a car without a radio or without tires. If I buy a new car and don't like the stereo, I can have a new one installed.

Maybe M$ should "very well then, Windows will no longer come with the Media Player and we'll charge you extra to download it".