Microsoft’s long-running antitrust battle with the European Union appears to be edging closer to new battlefronts, as the software giant hints that EU concerns over specific features in Windows Vista may result in the operating system release in Europe being delayed. Currently, Vista is scheduled to be released to European markets in early 2007.
Microsoft has been embroiled in antitrust litigation with the European Commission for years; the latest round saw the company hit with a $357 million penalty for failing to adequately share technical information with companies seeking to interoperate with Microsoft’s systems. To date, the European Commission has not launched a formal inquiry into Windows Vista, and competition commissioner Neelie Kroes has said it is misleading for Microsoft to imply the European Commission is somehow delaying the release of Windows Vista. A Commission spokesman clarified to the BBC: It is not up to the Commission to give Microoft a definitive ‘green light’ before Vista is put on the market.”
In March 2006, European regulators warned Microsoft specific features in Windows Vista may run afoul of EU antitrust regulations, including Internet searching, tools which enable creation of PDF documents, digital rights management software, and potentially some of the security and anti-piracy technologies included in the forthcoming operating system. The Commission apparently sent details of possible antitrust issues to Microsoft in July; Microsoft, for its part, recently claimed the European Commission had not responded to request for guidance on how to make sure Vista avoids regulatory entanglements.
A virtual private network (VPN) encrypts your internet traffic and routes it through a server run by the VPN provider. Websites see the VPN server’s IP address instead of yours, and you can get around geo-blocks, censorship, and ISP throttling. The best VPN services are paid, but there are still a handful of free options that do the job well.
Most free VPNs come with a hidden cost, because running servers isn’t cheap and a company that doesn’t charge you has to make its money somewhere else. Many do so by logging your browsing activity and selling it to advertisers, while others flood you with ads and track you across apps.
A stocked computer cache may be convenient for logging into and out of go-to sites in seconds flat, but a major buildup of these tracking codes could significantly impact your PC’s performance. If you’ve noticed that your PC has been running rather slow of late, or you’re using a new browser and don’t know how to clear its cache, we’ve got you covered with the following guide.
If you’re looking to clean up your Gmail inbox, but you don’t want to delete anything permanently, then choosing the archive option is your best bet. Whenever you archive an email, it is removed from your inbox folder while still remaining accessible. Here’s how to access any emails you have archived previously, as well as how to move such messages back to your regular inbox for fast access.