The €561m fine imposed on Microsoft by the European commission for breaking its commitment to offer Windows users a choice of browsers is steep but is less than it could have been, so the company has got off relatively lightly. It could been fined 10% of its FY12 revenues. The fine covers the May 2011 to July 2012 period.
A technical error with Server Pack 1 for Windows 7 meant the browser option feature was absent. This is the second Microsoft technical hitch to be revealed. Last month the Azure cloud storage facility went down because an SSL certificate had expired. Although these represent a small number of issues compared to the volume of development within the company, they are somewhat basic but high profile technical mistakes. They raise questions about quality control, and could be indicative of the internal pressures caused by the Windows 8 and the Surface developments (see Windows 8: saviour or sinker?).
Microsoft may well be hoping that the latest RBS banking system crash (following the June 2012 system upgrade debacle) which prevented customers from accessing their accounts and withdrawing money last night, will detract from its mistakes.