In a 2009 antitrust settlement with European Union regulators, Microsoft agreed to give local PC users a choice of browser they use. In a later software update, it forgot to include that "browser choice" screen.
That mistake could cost Microsoft up to $7 billion in fines.
The European Commission launched an investigation in July, and Microsoft immediately owned up to -- and fixed -- what it swore was an inadvertent error. Regulators are now deciding what penalty to impose. Microsoft has to be hoping hard that they're feeling forgiving. -- David Goldman
