Tony Cook

USA

Software Developer

If the EU really wants to put a hurting on MS (and the US) it could do so simply by revoking MS business licenses and ban the importation and sale of MS Windows products in all EU countries. This would likely have the beneficial side effect, for the EU, of spurning renewed growth and interest in its own IT and related high-tech industries.

Unfortunately, this could also likely lead to more than a "bitter war of words" -- a "Corporate World War", so to speak -- since MS would likely use its significant lobbying (and campaign contributions) muscle to create similar action in the US. The only things that might impede escalation of this are the facts that the US is still suffering ("recovering") from the immense IT collapse and ensuing economic damage the Bush Administration brought with it (a "karmic backlash" for its unwarranted "pardoning" of MS in the DOJ fiasco??), and that despite the US' strong tech and manufacturing industrializations, the majority of its products are assembled from parts made outside the US!

"Interesting times" -- as the Chinese curse -- would seem to be upon us all.