Microsoft's EU appeal case ends
Microsoft is appealing against a 2004 ruling when Brussels told it to change how it sells its Media Player software and fined it 497m euros ($613m; £344m).
The Court of First Instance may not deliver a verdict until early 2007.
Defeat could damage the Commission's authority as a competition regulator or Microsoft's future business model.
Microsoft lawyers spent much of the hearing arguing that its fine should be rescinded and that it should not have to produce a version of its Windows operating system without the Media Player software.
They also argued against the 2004 ruling's stipulation that Microsoft should share information about Windows with rival software companies.
The Commission's advocates told the court that the fine was needed as a deterrent and that Microsoft was abusing its market leading position in the desktop software market to stifle competition.
Both sides left the court saying the case was too close to call.
Also:
Microsoft extended an olive branch to the open source community with the launch of Port 25, but visitors to the Web site have been treating the branch as if it were poison ivy.
Port 25 is a Web site that offers a look into the Microsoft Open Source Software Lab. Launched in 2004, the lab is the software company's attempt to test interoperability between Microsoft software and open source solutions. Its other stated goal is to make IT professionals with UNIX/Linux skills more proficient in the Windows environment -- and vice versa.
But some users are skeptical.
Shares of Microsoft Corp. posted their biggest drop in more than five years Friday after the company said it planned to significantly beef up investments in many areas where it is not dominant, but refused to provide details.
Analysts said such investments, while risky, may pay off in the long term but could hurt more immediate financial results at the world's largest softwaremaker.
Microsoft shares fell $3.10, or 11.4 percent, to close at a 52-week low of $24.15 on the Nasdaq stock market, erasing $31.6 billion in market value.
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