A fine of $810 million sounds like a lot of money. That is what Microsoft was fined for anti-competitive conduct. The fine by the European Commission was upheld this week by the European Court of First Instance.

Microsoft is seeking clarity about its most recent fine. What's not clear about dollars and cents? The exchange rate?

Luxembourg, May 25 - FSFE played a key role at a Microsoft hearing before the European Union's General Court on Tuesday, helping explain the intricacies of Free Software servers.

According to a letter seen by heise online, the German Federal Office of Justice last week launched summary proceedings against The SCO Group GmbH for "breaching regulations pertaining to the publication of its accounts." The proceedings were suspended after the imposed fine was paid. No information on the size of the fine is available.

A European Union court on Monday dismissed Microsoft's appeal against the 2004 ruling which found the company had abused its dominant market position to score over rivals. Microsoft's lawyers failed to impress the European Court of First Instance, which not only dismissed the case but also rejected the appeal against the €497 million ($690 million) fine imposed on the company.

The European Commission slapped Microsoft with a fine of EUR 561 million for breaching a 2009 settlement over the bundling of Internet Explorer with Windows. Under this agreement, the company promised to display a “browser choice” screen on Windows installs in Europe, inviting users to choose other browsers in addition to the company’s own program.

Microsoft has dropped two outstanding appeals of European antitrust rulings, following the deal struck with the European Commission at the beginning of this week, the company said in a statement on Wednesday.

The recent fine levied on Microsoft by the European anti-trust authorities has reminded people just how dominant Microsoft is in the industry.

That would have gotten everyone’s attention. A fine of $731m USD sounds like a lot of money, but to an outfit like Microsoft, Apple, and Google, it’s chump change. If you want to send a message, make it hurt the other party at the receiving end.