Opinion
 

EU should mind its own business

By Matt Bean

Microsoft is the equivalent of that obnoxious boy who always calls dibs on the racecar in the game of Monopoly. You know the one -- that neighborhood kid who grew up a little quicker than everyone else, realized that his size could be used to his advantage, and from that point on made everyone else choose between the thimble or the shoe as their game piece.

It seems that the European Union is sick of being pushed around by schoolyard bullies, and Microsoft is the first one they intend to fight. On Monday, the EU officially backed a proposal to fine Microsoft 497 million euros, or just less than $614 million, for abusing its dominance in the market.

A fine of almost half a billion euros would certainly be a big sum for Europe, but an image of Bill Gates laughing at the penalty, pulling out his wallet, paying it in cash and doing a little tap dance on top of the legal papers pops into my head. 

Microsoft has $53 billion in cash on hand, so the EU's fine is a little more than 1 percent of Microsoft's standing capital -- something of a financial joke to the company.

Of course, the reality of the situation is that Microsoft is upset about the actions taken by the EU, likely more because of the precedent this would create than the financial impact, and it has stated that it intends to appeal.

Microsoft is an American-based company that conducts almost all of its business in the United States. The U.S. Department of Justice currently regulates it, and most of us have been exposed to the high profile anti-trust trial surrounding the mega-corporation.

It is unprecedented that the EU would take measures to punish an American company financially, especially when the issues in question have already been addressed in American courts.

Frankly, I think the actions being taken by the EU are unjustified. If this fine is enforced, it would set a precedent in European courts that would allow them easily fine companies, regardless of where those companies primarily do business.

I admit to being a big fan of Microsoft. I firmly believe that any company that can unite more than 90 percent of the global PC market on the same platform is ultimately of great benefit to both the consumer and the software developer.

Personally, I feel that Microsoft being nearly all-pervasive is a greater benefit to a software developer, which would only have to spend time developing for one platform instead of having to port the code to different systems in an effort to reach a majority of the marketplace.

Of course, all of the people I know who are vehemently anti-Microsoft are software developers, and they have some valid points -- but that's another column.

I genuinely feel that by allowing developers to focus on creating for one platform, it allows them to keep the price of software down, because they don't have to expend additional resources on cross-compatibility issues.

What about Microsoft's business practices? Are they monopolistic? Are they brutal, cutthroat and unfair? Sure, some of them are, and Microsoft should be punished for those infractions.

However, the United States should correct the problems. If the EU has a problem with Microsoft, it should make an appeal to the American justice system. After all, how would you feel if your neighbor spanked your kid because he broke your neighbor's window?

Bean, a columnist for The Daily Cougar, 
can be reached at me@mattbean.com.