European antitrust regulators will reportedly slap Microsoft with a "large fine" Wednesday for failing to live up to a 2009 settlement that requires it to offer Windows users a browser ballot.



From Computerworld:

The browser ballot was the result of a deal Microsoft struck with the Commission in late 2009 after officials fielded a complaint from Norwegian browser maker Opera Software. Opera accused Microsoft of manipulating the battle for browser share by tying Internet Explorer (IE) to Windows.

Regulators agreed, and after some arm twisting, forced Microsoft to display a screen in Windows that provided download links to other browsers, including Apple's Safari, Google's Chrome, Mozilla's Firefox and Opera Software's Opera. The browser ballot was to appear in all versions of Windows, including the then-new Windows 7.

  EU to hit Microsoft with 'large fine' Wednesday, says report