“News that Microsoft is to be hit with yet another fine from the
European Union has naturally attracted plenty of attention, but it
has also raised the old questions of whether such interventions by
governments are justified or even do any good.“Some seem to believe that the market, inherently red in tooth
and claw, should be allowed to sort itself out without any kind of
government intervention. But as a convicted monopolist, Microsoft
has already been found to have abused its dominant position, so the
idea that it should be allowed merrily to do the same wherever else
it fancies just because it can, with whatever collateral damage
that may cause to open source projects, hardly seems in the public
interest. By all means let it compete–but on a level playing
field…”