Could it be that Microsoft will be forced to act within the law and in a moral and proper way? Maybe we will be moving forward at last and away from a new dark age! Once file system compatibility (arguably the largest issue for OpenOffice.org) is on a level and fair field, things will improve vastly.
RM Ref. 1 Reg Developer » Code » Microsoft/.Net Microsoft runs out of EC time Three strikes and you're out By Mark Ballard Published Thursday 9th February 2006 13:17 GMT Microsoft is facing fines from the European Commission after failing to get an extension on a deadline it had been set by the competition police. The Competition Directorate had already extended, from December 15, a deadline for Microsoft to comply with the terms of a previous ruling, Reuters said. The software firm, which had already paid $593m in fines to the EC, now faces further charges of $2.4m a day unless it complies with a previous anti-trust ruling. The EC had told Microsoft to help other software firms understand its operating system so they could write server software as easily as it could itself. It appeared from the EC ruling that Microsoft was doing what it could to further tighten the hold it had on the market for operating systems. But the commission found that Microsoft was still delivering up shoddy information to other server software vendors and cried foul. Microsoft complained that it did not get a fair opportunity to make a defence. However, the commission insisted it had opportunity enough. -----------------------------------
