On Wednesday, Europe's Court of First Instance dealt Microsoft a severe blow--ordering the company to immediately begin offering a version of Windows without a bundled media player and to start sharing key communications protocols with server rivals.
Those sanctions had been put in place back in March, as part of a European Commission antitrust ruling that included a record fine. Microsoft, which is appealing that ruling, had requested an emergency stay of the penalties while its appeal is ongoing. The court granted the emergency stay while it considered the issues. But on Wednesday, Bo Vesterdorf, president of the European Court of First Instance, said Microsoft must comply with the penalties imposed by the Commission in March, even as the company's appeal makes its way through the system.
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