The EU can suck my balls.
 

In response to this article:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/4552214.stm

Basically, in a nutshell, the EU is going to fine Microsoft 2.4 million dollars per day, retroactive to December 15, if they don't provide complete documentation on how core components of Windows networking operates.

They want Microsoft to disclose how netbios works (among other things), so that software companies can develop products that interact with Microsoft products. Which is bullshit. These companies want to directly compete with Microsoft products, using this extorted information.

Their idea is to get the information they need so Samba can fully interact with windows machines, and they can in essence provide an open source directory services mechanism that emulates active directory. Again, using technology Microsoft developed that they will acquire for - free -.

And seriously, as a shareholder, I feel Microsoft should play rough with the EU, and say you know what? FUCK YOU! Stop providing updates, and stop catering to their communist requests. Being forced to abide by a country's laws is one thing. Having laws written that cater to legalized theft of foreign intellectual property is another.

In short, I hope Microsoft does the right thing and stops pandering to the EU, those faggot europa viking motherfuckers.

lol no comment :helpme

microsoft is a top five earner of U.S. gdp - so yeah, im w/ ya - piss on the EU :ak47:

why are YOU crying?

"so that software companies can develop products that interact with Microsoft products"

thats a good thing for everyone..... except MS.

I think they don't want to share netbios because it's a flawed implementation and would expose some vulnerabilities - not to mention, it's probably illegal for them to export the encryption algorithms they use to hash passwords and secure communications between machines (which is likely what the EU faggots want, is the ability to operate their netbios clones in a secure manner)

Besides, 99% of netbios has already been reverse engineered for use in samba, save for the encryption.

Microsoft should get smart about this, and if they are forced to give everything away, make netbios completely obsolete, develop a protocol that's backwards compatible with ONLY Microsoft machines, and then the EU can sue them again, waste everybody's time, and all of the developers that use the "stolen" code/API information will be forced to start over again.

They don't "need" the business of 500 million people if it means giving up intellectual property based on the demands of european government terrorists.

This is how the EU works - they know they can't take down Microsoft - so if they can extort some fines, they get a new office building and do nothing to address the real issues of their people.

I'm pretty sure the shareholders would be more riled up over 72 million dollars in fines per month if it meant Microsoft telling them to fuck off. Precedent must be set, even if it's at the cost of market share.

It sounds like your loss. The richest man surely would not allow his business jeopardize by the EU.

the EU rocks

Off course this is not an EU issue alone.

US companies (since netscape) have been fighting MS in court for years for very similar motives.