I think Microsoft makes a lot of crappy products. I think their key offerings are overpriced. Their FUD tactics do not impress me. I cannot, however, agree with this ruling. This quote really bothered me:<p><i>Asked how the Commission would assess progress in the Microsoft case, she said: "A market level of much less than 95 percent would be a way of measuring success ... You can't draw a line and say exactly 50 (percent) is correct, but a significant drop in market share is what we would like to see."</i><p>That, to me, seems entirely wrong. They're talking about a market where, for a long time, Microsoft was the <i>only</i> one providing usable services. Instead of encouraging other OS producers to improve their offerings, they're instead trying to level the playing field by levying penalties against Microsoft. This is an utterly counterproductive way to improve diversity and competitiveness. It reminds me of a scene from <i>Atlas Shrugged</i>.
About the only advantage of the lack of democracy in the European Commission is that it's very difficult to buy people who have security of tenure...<p>I don't know that the term "stunning" is wholly appropriate (yes, I know it was Yahoo's choice) - perhaps "comprehensive" or "thorough" would be better, as I don't think anyone in the EU was particularly surprised at the outcome. I found what happened (or not) in the US much more confounding.