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Un-friggin-believable. But this is the approach I expect the EU to take, for a number of reasons. First, as stupid as it may be, what else are you going to do? There is no rational basis for pricing individual features. Second, it sets a framework, as envisioned by the DOJ, for pricing other features the EU may order Microsoft to remove. Third, it reinforces the precedent set by the vacated Jackson ruling, which Im sure Microsofts competitors would like to set as a model for future rulings. The mind boggles when considering the implications of such a ruling. Microsoft would be rational, for example, to change the nature of the programs in question in response. Windows Media Player comes with sample videos and numerous bitmaps included in the executable. Time to trim that excess fat. They might change their compiler settings in the future to pack files more tightly, use compression on executables and so on. Incidentally, as far as I could tell from reading the judgment, it is unclear whether the calculations were based on the number of bits on the installation media or the number of bits in the installed system; these numbers could differ greatly, so that needs to be worked out. And its hard to say that theres even any fairness basis for valuing software by the number of bits it occupies. Big, fat programs are often the worst written and small, tightly written the fastest and most valuable. The number of bits in them is at best a random proxy for value, at worst a direct opposite reading of the work that went into them. Back during the DOJ case I actually read the proposed judgment and actual judgment, so these provisions caught my eye, but I never saw them discussed anywhere else. Perhaps they will get more attention this time if they are adopted by the EU. Or maybe theyll think of something even more irrational; dont put it past the minds of Microsofts competitors and their partners in government regulation. Security Center Editor Larry Seltzer has worked in and written about the computer industry since 1983.

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