Maybe Microsoft won’t get fined a gazillion dollars by the European Union, after all.  The software giant is supposedly making an attempt to settle two antitrust probes, and according to the same report, even has a firm cut-off date in mind. 

Several years of contentious litigation over Microsoft’s business practices in Europe have finally yielded a compromise between the two sides.

The European Commission has daily fines of $4 million in store for Microsoft, who in turn have complained that the Commission thinks "patented innovation must be made available for free