02.26.08
More New Fines for Microsoft to Pay
$2.2 Billion is a lot of money, even to Microsoft
Microsoft may already be standing on one foot because its earnings come from just a few divisions (while others are suffering major losses). Now comes another financial blow from the European Commission, which was unimpressed with last week’s taxoperability program.
The fine may be announced as soon as Feb. 27, said the people, who declined to be identified because the decision isn’t public. Microsoft said in a Jan. 24 U.S. regulatory filing that the penalty may be as much as 1.5 billion euros ($2.2 billion).
$2.2 billion is actually a considerable amount of money. Microsoft and its apologists prefer to cite revenue made through Office in order to make such an amount appear insignificant, but one must not forget the many billions that are lost in other divisions of Microsoft.
If Microsoft’s acquisition of Yahoo was successful, the company would be in debt (at the expense of extra assets, most of which are intangible). If the rumours above are true (the Seattle P-I seems to suggest they are), then expect Microsoft to make a lot of noise in the media tomorrow. Expect them to use proxies: Zuck et al (ACT) and other lobbying arms typically confuse by posing the EU’s stance as “anti-American”, rather than address the issue of abuse and anti-competitiveness. Anti-Kroes smear campaigns are also typical. █
“The government is not trying to destroy Microsoft, it’s simply seeking to compel Microsoft to obey the law. It’s quite revealing that Mr. Gates equates the two.”
–Government official
Highlight: Novell was the first to acknowledge that Microsoft FUD tactics had substance. Novell then used anti-Linux FUD to market itself. 
Highlight: Xandros let Microsoft make patent claims and brag about (paid-for) OOXML support. 
Highlight: Linspire's CEO not only fell into Microsoft arms, but he also assisted the company's attack on GNU/Linux. 
Highlight: Microsoft craves pseudo (proprietary) standards and gets its way using proxies and influence which it buys. 
Highlight: The invasion into the open source world is intended to leave Linux companies neglected, due to financial incentives from Microsoft. 
Analysis: Xen, an open source hypervisor, possibly fell victim to Microsoft's aggressive (and stealthy) acquisition-by-proxy strategy.