Microsoft, EU Reach Accord on Antitrust

From PC World: Microsoft appears to have reached an agreement with the European Commission that concludes an antitrust battle that has lasted a decade, Europe's top competition regulator said Wednesday.

A proposal the company offered in July to address charges of monopoly abuse were dismissed as insufficient by the Commission as well as by rivals in the software industry. But the latest iteration appears to have mollified the EC's regulator.

"We believe this is an answer," said competition commissioner Neelie Kroes in a press conference.

"I think this is a trustful deal we are making. There can't be a misunderstanding because it is the final result of a long discussion between Steve Ballmer and me," she added.

The new settlement offer addresses charges that Microsoft distorted competition in its favor in the market for web browsers, by giving its Internet Explorer (IE) browser an unfair advantage over rivals.

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