Google and Opera behind Microsoft's $730-million EU antitrust fine

By BajiRav
in Back Page News

 Share

Recommended Posts

Grand Master

BajiRav

Posted
Posted

Source

A report from the Financial Times claims that Google and Opera "informally provided the tip-off" that led to the EU fining Microsoft over $730 million yesterday. The fine was levied because Microsoft failed to include a "browser ballot" screen that let European users choose what browser to use when setting up their Windows PC. The Financial Times cites "several people familiar with the case" as confirming that Microsoft's browser-making rivals were behind the tip, and claims that both companies also helped the EU throughout the investigation.

Although uncorroborated, this revelation makes sense: both Google and Opera benefited heavily from the inclusion of the browser ballot, and Opera has been a vocal opponent against Microsoft's tight integration of Internet Explorer with Windows for a long time. When asked for comment, Opera told the Financial Times it was "happy to see that the Commission is enforcing compliance with the commitment, which is critical to ensuring a genuine choice among web browsers for consumers." Google was also asked for comment, but declined.

should I be surprised?

This topic is now closed to further replies.
 Share
Go to topic listing

  • Posts

    • AIMP 5.40 Build 2721

      By Copernic · Posted

      AIMP 5.40 Build 2721 by Razvan Serea AIMP is a powerful audio player that allows you to listen to your favorite music with an outstanding sound quality. Its appearance resembles that of another classical audio player (Winamp). The program includes a 20-band equalizer, a visualization window to display rhythmic visual effects and a playlist editor to organize your audio files. A nice fading effect makes your list of songs look like an endless music loop and a handy volume normalizing feature avoids drastic volume changes between tracks. Also, the players main functions can be conveniently controlled by global hotkeys. Besides playing music, AIMP features three extra utilities which also enable you to record any sound on your computer, convert audio files from one format to another and view or edit tags. AIMP is based on the well-known audio engine BASS, so its easy to connect new plug-ins (from the plug-in library included in the program) and expand the players functionality. Main Features and Functions: Multi-Format Playback: Supports numerous audio formats, including CDA, AAC, AC3, APE, DTS, FLAC, IT, MIDI, MO3, MOD, M4A, M4B, MP1, MP2, MP3, MPC, MTM, OFR, OGG, OPUS, RMI, S3M, SPX, TAK, TTA, UMX, WAV, WMA, WV, XM, DSF, DFF, MKA, AA3, AT3, OMA, WebM, MDZ, ITZ, S3Z, XMZ, AIFF, and MPEG-DASH (YouTube). CUE Sheet Support: Enables the use of CUE sheets for managing audio tracks. Output Support: Compatible with DirectSound, ASIO, WASAPI, and WASAPI Exclusive output methods. 32-Bit Audio Processing: Utilizes 32-bit audio processing for optimal sound quality. Internet Radio: Allows listening to internet radio stations in OGG, WAV, MP3, AAC, and AAC+ formats, with the capability to capture streams in various formats. Bookmarks and Playback Queue: Facilitates creating bookmarks and managing a playback queue. Rating and Auto-Marks: Collects statistics on track listening and automatically calculates ratings and marks for listened tracks. Plugin Support: Allows the addition of new utilities or extensions to existing features through plugins. Built-in Scrobbler: Supports Last.fm, Libre.fm, and ListenBrainz services for scrobbling. Cloud Integration: Supports OneDrive, Google Drive, DropBox, Облако@mail.ru, Яндекс.Диск, and custom WebDAV clouds. Podcasts: Offers podcast support for subscribing and listening. Hotkeys: Allows configuration of local and global hotkeys. Multi-User Mode Support: Supports multiple users working on one computer. Multi-Language Interface: Provides a multi-language interface. 4K and High DPI Support: Supports scale factors of 125%, 150%, 175%, and 200% for high-resolution displays. Flexible Program Options: Offers customizable program settings. Flexible UI: Charm UI: A modern flat-style skin with 4K and High DPI support. Bliss 4K: A skin-transformer from AIMP4 included in the installation package. Pandemic: The classic skin from AIMP3 included in the installation package. User Skins: Access to a catalog of user-created skins. Sound Effects: 20-Band Equalizer and Built-in Sound Effects: Includes Reverb, Flanger, Chorus, Pitch, Tempo, Echo, Speed, Bass, Enhancer, and Voice Remover effects with flexible settings. Volume Normalization: Features peak-based normalization and Replay Gain, along with logarithmic and loudness-compensated volume control. Mixing Options: Offers Fade In/Fade Out, cross-mixing, and pause between tracks. Silence Remover: Removes silence from tracks for a seamless listening experience. Music Library: Music Library: Organizes music files, allows setting marks for listened tracks, and keeps playback statistics. Smart Playlist: Creates playlists based on content from the Music Library database, with filtering and grouping capabilities. Playlists: Multiple Playlists: Supports working with multiple playlists simultaneously. Powerful View Settings: Allows data display customization, track grouping, and separate settings for each playlist. Content Protection: Provides the ability to block content from changes. File Search: Enables searching files across all opened playlists. AIMP 5.40 Build 2721 changelog: Audio converter: WavPack - support for 32-bit float samples format General: localizations has been updated General: WavPack codec has been updated to v5.9 Plugins: scrobbler - Last.fm - in case of an access denied error, the Track Info dialog displays links to web-version of the catalog Fixed: General - error creating a file in a folder created by template if the folder name ends with a dot Fixed: general - menu cannot be scrolled via mouse wheel if the "scroll inactive windows when I hover over them" option is switched off Fixed: General - port number is not extracted from URL if there is no "/" after the port token (regression 5.40) Fixed: audio converter - statistics are not taken into account if the "delete sources files" option is switched on and target folder equals to source Fixed: audio converter - dither does not switched off when processing files in 24-to-24-bit format Fixed: Sound engine - VST - changing the sample rate leads to certain plugins to hanging up Fixed: player - does not read disc numbers for CUE that specified as custom tag fields stored in the audio file Fixed: player - manual invoking the jump to next track action does not work if the next file is not exists and the "track repeat" option is switched on Fixed: plugins - BASS_AAC - does not play certain files to the end Fixed: plugins - CDDA - MusicBrainz - wrong artist name is extracted for certain releases Fixed: issues from incoming crash-reports Download: AIMP 64-bit | Standalone | ~20.0 MB (Freeware) Download: AIMP 32-bit | Standalone View: AIMP Website | Screenshot Get alerted to all of our Software updates on Twitter at @NeowinSoftware
    • Notion is shutting down its email client one year after launch

      By M. Murcek · Posted

      All five users are furious.
    • Notion is shutting down its email client one year after launch

      By David Uzondu · Posted

      Notion is shutting down its email client one year after launch by David Uzondu In April 2025, Notion launched Notion Mail, an AI-powered email client that acted as a customizable overlay for your existing accounts. Instead of replacing Gmail entirely, it reimagined how users interacted with their inboxes by offering features like intelligent auto-labeling alongside automated calendar scheduling. Now, a little over a year later, Notion has announced that it is shutting it all down on September 22. Since Notion Mail is a frontend client, most of your Gmail data will remain safe inside your Google account, but the company said that you must export stuff specific to Notion Mail, like snippets, custom auto-label instructions, email drafts, and scheduled drafts, before the deadline. Starting today, June 25, you can export that data directly from the app or the web interface, and this grace period will last all the way until September 21. Once September 22 arrives, Notion will permanently delete all unsaved local assets, including files you attached to snippets. Your existing database syncs and mail blocks will persist, though they will stop receiving new messages after the shutdown. Notion advises that if you or your company operate within a regulated environment, you must transition off earlier than the general shutdown date to maintain compliance. Companies that rely on HIPAA coverage face an even tighter timeline and must transition away from the platform by June 30th. Notion, in its X announcement post, basically said that it doesn't see the point of maintaining a standalone email client, especially when users have shifted their habits toward automation. The platform pointed to its Notion agents, which it claims "more than half of Notion Mail users" already employ to manage emails without ever opening an actual inbox, so it is "going all in" on using these agents to run your inbox. Notion introduced Notion Agents last September at the "Make With Notion" conference, giving users AI-powered digital assistants that can do stuff like run in the background on specific schedules (e.g., summarizing your daily open tasks every morning at 8 AM).
    • Windows 10 quietly gets one more year of support and updates

      By ChickyBoom · Posted

      OK, but isn't nvidia still planning to cut off win10 support this year?
    • Prime Day Deals: Save up to 50% on Samsung, Sandisk, and Lexar microSD cards

      By Fiza Ali · Posted

      Prime Day Deals: Save up to 50% on Samsung, Sandisk, and Lexar microSD cards by Fiza Ali Amazon Prime Day has brought discounts on a wide range of microSD cards from brands including Samsung, Sandisk, and Lexar, with savings of up to 50% across both the UK and US. Below, we've rounded up the best Prime Day microSD deals currently available, including discounted Samsung's T7, T9, and P9 Express series, SanDisk Ultra, Extreme, and Extreme PRO models, as well as Lexar PLAY PRO, and PLAY BLUE cards. 512GB Lexar PLAY PRO MicroSDXC Express Card: £94.98 (Amazon UK) - 41% off 64GB SANDISK Extreme microSDXC Card + SD adapter: £17.99 (Amazon UK) - 25% off 128GB SANDISK Extreme microSDXC Card + SD Adapter: £26.99 (Amazon UK) - 14% off 256GB SANDISK Extreme PRO microSD Card + SD adapter: £50.99 (Amazon UK) - 22% off 128GB Samsung T7 microSDXC Card: $32.99 (Amazon US) - 35% off 256GB Samsung T7 microSDXC Card: $51.99 (Amazon US) - 35% off 512GB Samsung T7 microSDXC Card: $94.99 (Amazon US) - 41% off 1TB Samsung T7 microSDXC Card: $239.99 (Amazon US) - 25% off 128GB Samsung T9 microSDXC Card: $36.99 (Amazon US) - 41% off 256GB Samsung T9 microSDXC Card: $57.99 (Amazon US) - 42% off 512GB Samsung T9 microSDXC Card: $104.99 (Amazon US) - 48% off 256GB Samsung P9 Express microSD Card: $39.99 (Amazon US) - 50% off 256GB SANDISK Ultra microSDXC UHS-I Card with Adapter: $41.78 (Amazon US) - 21% off 512GB Lexar PLAY BLUE microSDXC UHS-I Card: $79.99 (Amazon US) - 38% off 1TB Lexar PLAY BLUE microSDXC UHS-I Card: $159.99 (Amazon US) - 30% off 2TB Lexar PLAY BLUE microSDXC UHS-I Card: $279.99 (Amazon US) - 35% off Good to know This Amazon deal is U.S. and U.K. specific, and not available in other regions unless specified. We only use first-party seller links (at the time of article publishing); ensure that you purchase from a first-party seller link only. Check out Today's Deals on Amazon | or our recent tech deals. Become a Prime member (for Students or SNAP) via Neowin Get Prime Access - Prime for half price (for qualifying Medicaid, EBT, SNAP) Subscribe to Prime Video, Audible Plus, Music Unlimited or Kindle Unlimited via Neowin As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases.

  • Recent Achievements

    • One Month Later
      The_Focal_Point earned a badge
      One Month Later
    • One Year In
      Vistor earned a badge
      One Year In
    • First Post
      kinowa earned a badge
      First Post
    • Rookie
      krychek57 went up a rank
      Rookie
    • Grand Master
      Jaybonaut went up a rank
      Grand Master

  • Popular Contributors

    1. 1
      +primortal
      405
    2. 2
      +Edouard
      170
    3. 3
      PsYcHoKiLLa
      131
    4. 4
      Xenon
      72
    5. 5
      neufuse
      69
    Show More

  • Tell a friend

    Love Neowin? Tell a friend!