While Nelie Kroes, Europe's antitrust regulator, said she hopes the fine "closes a dark chapter in Microsoft?s record of noncompliance," across the pond the company is still in hot water; the EC is looking into whether Microsoft's bundling Internet Explorer with its OS has excluded competitors from the Web browser market, and whether it withheld information that would enable companies from making Microsoft-compatible software.
How the decision to fine Microsoft could impact its proprosed deal to buy remains to be seen. As posted on a Wired blog: "If it's taken nearly Google a year to clear its acquisition of DoubleClick with European regulators -- and it hasn't closed yet -- will Microsoft have better luck clearing the Yahoo deal?"The New York Times, Wired