Free Software Sets the Computing Agenda [LWN.net]

Free Software Sets the Computing Agenda

Posted Jul 20, 2006 19:44 UTC (Thu) by christophe (guest, #1557)
Parent article: Free Software Sets the Computing Agenda

But big as that number might seem, it is in truth a gnat-bite as far as the Microsoft behemoth is concerned: last year its net income was $12 billion, and it holds cash and short-term investments worth over $39 billion. Against this background, the EU's fine is a little more than an accountancy rounding error.

The fine is not a big concern for Microsoft but what about the penalty payments of 3 million per day? Can Microsoft pay 3 million per day forever? How much Microsoft earns per day from its European business?

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Free Software Sets the Computing Agenda

Posted Jul 20, 2006 19:58 UTC (Thu) by felixfix (subscriber, #242) [Link]

Well, 3 * 365 is roughly 1000, so it comes to about 1000 million euros a year, or 1/12 of their profit. They can afford it, but (a) it's a big chunk, and I doubt they really want to, and (b) I think the commission would get tired of just receiving the payments and eventually stiffen the punishment, raising the fine and/or adding something worse.