Tag: anti-trust
EU to probe Microsoft's file format support
The European Commission has revealed that it plans to investigate Microsoft’s recent decision to support rival file formats in its Office products. Among these will be Open Document Format (ODF) and the decision to introduce direct support is seen as a concession to antitrust regulators and a serious step towards improving customer choice…
Microsoft hammered by EU anti-trust body again – handed record £680m fine
The European Union has just hit Microsoft a record fine of around £625m.
It’s in response to Microsoft charging “unreasonable prices” to developers for data on how to get their applications working happily on Windows. Naughty old MS was ordered by the EU in 2004 to start charging more reasonable fees for licensing out its patents – but clearly the EU thinks it hasn’t complied with that. Hence the cash windfall for Brussels…
Microsoft in trouble again with EU anti-trust people – Office and IE the offenders this time
The European Union is looking into another two Microsoft anti-competition issues, it said today, with its aggressive bundling and software interoperability coming under fire from the Brussels-based freedom fighters.
At the centre of the new EU competition worries is the way MS Office interacts with rival products (ie, it often doesn’t), plus the way some of its products are locked down and force users to use Internet Explorer…
UK iTunes prices to come down by 10% – thanks to EU pen-pushers
Hooray for European bureaucracy for once!
Apple has agreed to cut its UK iTunes prices by 10%, following pressure from the European Union’s anti-trust watchdog.
Prices for UK downloads were 10% higher than they were with the rest of Europe – which is unacceptable behaviour for companies within the modern, free European market…
Microsoft agrees to change Vista to meet EU requirements in first service pack
Microsoft continues to face run-ins with the European Union about its software and anti-competitiveness. In the latest skirmish, it has agreed to update Vista to meet the EU's requirements in its first service pack due out later this year. Changes…
