Windows 7 What will Microsoft's loss in Europe mea

Word is out: Microsoft has misplaced its appeal of the European Commission;s antitrust decision. So now what?There;s no word yet if Microsoft will appeal once more, which it's two months to choose regardless of whether or not to perform. If it doesn;t, the firm will probably be pressured to spend the $700 million fine, plus a large chunk of the EC;s court costs. It also will need to finally obtain a way to make all the server communications protocols and connected documentation that it's got been ordered to supply on the market fto its competition.(Sun and Novell — now both staunch Microsoft allies — were among those server vendors who were insisting on Microsoft making these protocols publicly offered. Now that they;re enmeshed in patent/interoperability alliances with Microsoft, I wonder if they care anymore.)My biggest question in all this is how will the Court;s September 17 ruling affect customers in Europe and elsewhere?If you believe Microsoft;s lobbyists, the decision means the end of the free-market economy and might be dire for Microsoft consumers and partners. If you believe the European Commission, the decision will create more consumer selection and all kinds of new market place innovation. Communications protocols and their documentation is going to be provided. Bundling by Microsoft of applications and technologies for which there are non-Microsoft alternatives in future versions of Windows is going to be frowned upon.Does the ruling affect Windows Vista? Office 2007? The pending Windows 7 and Office 14 products? If it does, I;m not sure how. Will today;s ruling help Microsoft;s competition,Office Home And Business 2010, such as Firefox,Office 2010 Keygen, Adobe, Google? Maybe, if any of these competition bring a new antitrust case against Microsoft to try to force Microsoft to cut XPS (Micorsoft;s PDF alternative) or Vista;s integrated desktop search and create yet extra versions of Windows.Microsoft isn;t pulling its products out of Europe (as it threatened to perform at one point). It will continue offering the Media-Player-less versions of Windows to consumers there,even though no one seems to be buying them. Another Microsoft watcher wondered about the impact:“Much happens to be written in the United States about how anti-trust is supposed to become about protecting customers rather than opponents; it;s not clear a similar philosophy is shared by the EU in this case,” said Peter O;Kelly,Discount Office 2007, an analyst with all the Burton Group. “In the grand scheme of things,Microsoft Office 2010 Home And Business, I don;t think forcing Microsoft to, e.g.,Windows 7 Pro, present a version of Windows that un-bundles Windows Media Player or other basic features, will probably foster improved competition; I doubt European customers would be happy to use deliberately dumbed-down products in order to help EU commissioners reduce Microsoft;s marketplace share to what they somehow believe is a significantly more appropriate level.”Me? I think it will be a good thing if today;s choice results in Microsoft not bundling currently standalone products for which there are alternatives from third-party vendors into future releases of Windows. Let users choose what kinds of add-ons they want and from whom they;d prefer to get them. Otherwise, I;m not sure that today;s judgment means a whole lot to online business and consumer users.What do you say, readers?