Monday, September 17, 2007
Micros**t Justice?
Microsoft has lost its appeal against a record 497m euro (£343m; $690m) fine imposed by the European Commission in a long-running competition dispute.
The European Court of First Instance upheld the ruling that Microsoft had abused its dominant market position.A probe concluded in 2004 that Microsoft was guilty of freezing out rivals in server software and products such as media players. Microsoft has two months to appeal at the European Court of Justice.
Microsoft's top lawyer said it was important now for the company to comply with EU competition law, but that it had not yet decided on its next legal steps.
The 2004 ruling ordered Microsoft to ensure its products could operate with other computer systems by sharing information with rival software companies. It was also ordered to make a version of its Windows operating system available without Microsoft's Media Player software. Monday's ruling upheld that order, saying it was "beyond dispute" that Microsoft obliged customers to buy its Media Player software along with the operating system. Last year, Microsoft was told to pay daily fines adding up to 280.5 million euros over a six-month period, after it failed to adhere to the 2004 decision.
Saturday, September 01, 2007
Back in action
Sorry for the long silence.
Here's a quote I saw sprayed on a fence, a few doors down from a 'Tesco Express' in Cardiff last week:
"Like all addictions, consumerism involves the denial of it's consequences."
Say no more.