Time To Settle (Continued)

$3.8 million a day?!?!? A DAY?!?!? Do you know what you or I could do with that kind of money? The mind boggles. I could pay Alex Rodriguez's deal with the Yankees in the space of a week, whether I wanted him to show up for games or not (as a Red Sox fan, I think I'd keep A-Rod playing, especially in those big games he doesn't quite show up for). I could hire a personal trainer and chef to help shed pounds off my overweight lardbutt, and build myself a McMansion complete with gym to do the work in. I might even be able to pay for the oil to heat the McMansion.

Or let's be a little more serious here. I could sponsor water, food and infrastructure improvements for any number of impoverished African villages and save some lives. I could fund a study that might actually answer the question of why America has foolproof, uncrackable ATMs that print a receipt on the spot, but not voting machines (from the same company!) capable of that. And I could certainly make one hell of a donation to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation in a relatively short time, with plenty of scratch left over to pay for that McMansion.

I know Microsoft is the most cash-rich corporation that the planet has ever known. But is it worth it to essentially throw away that kind of money on a daily basis just to smash your head into the wall of an entire continent, when you could avoid that by letting your server software work with other companies' products -- and build your own market share in the process? I'm sorry, but Microsoft's fight with the European Commission is crossing from pointless to foolish when you factor in that kind of price. I'll say it again: Microsoft needs to settle the complaint, fix its software specs, and get on with the business of selling its excellent products into an expanded market.