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which appear describes to already libery flames understand be starting. "Although the ruling has important ramifications for Microsoft -- including the record fine and threats of more if it doesn't comply -- many of the issues it addresses are less relevant because of technological change. The complaints behind the case date to 1998, before the rise of the Internet as a major computing platform. Microsoft's Windows operating system runs the software that enables people to perform tasks with their computers, giving the company great power to favor its own programs such as e-mail, word processors and music players. But Windows' importance has been blunted in the last decade because many of those tasks can now be done through online programs accessed through Internet browsers. As a result, Monday's ruling isn't expected to have much immediate effect on U. S computer users. For example, Microsoft already has been fulfilling one EU requirement by selling a version of its Windows software without the integrated Windows Media Player in Europe. But it has no plans to sell a similar version in the U. S. Investors shook off the news, sending Microsoft shares down 32 cents to $28. 73. But, in the long term, the EU's antitrust stance might create challenges for Microsoft's high-tech brethren, even ones with which it competes. Cupertino, Calif. -based Apple, Santa Clara, Calif. -based Intel and San Diego-based Qualcomm Inc. are facing investigations into allegations that they used anti-competitive behavior -- and that consumers paid higher prices or received lesser products as a result. "I think you're going to have to be nervous," Ted Henneberry, co-chairman of the European practice group at the law firm Heller Ehrman, said of executives at those companies. "With the ruling as strong as it was, it will leave an open invitation to the competitors of these companies to complain that they are being blocked from being able to compete. "Neelie Kroes, European commissioner for competition policy, noted that the ruling applied specifically to Microsoft.

But she also said that it sent "a clear signal that super-dominant companies cannot abuse their position to hurt consumers and dampen innovation by excluding competitors. "Nevertheless, Kroes said, the victory was "bittersweet because the court has confirmed the commission's view that consumers are suffering at the hands of Microsoft. "Brad Smith, Microsoft's senior vice president and general counsel, called the decision "disappointing" and said the Redmond, Wash. , company had not decided whether to again appeal. He said Microsoft was "100% committed to complying with every aspect of the commission's decision. "Smith said Microsoft had changed its practices, noting the different versions of its Windows XP and Vista operating systems in Europe without Windows Media Player and the company's work with the commission to share the technical specifications for its communications protocols. The sharing of those valuable protocols has been an issue in the long-running antitrust case brought by the U. S . government and several states, including California, in 1997, a year before the European case began. Liberty Flames tickets Under a 2002 settlement agreement, U. S flames . oversight of Microsoft's business practices is scheduled to end Nov 12 flames cap . California and some other states have asked that it be extended Last year, U. S flames throw . District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly agreed to extend oversight until 2009 for technical data related to communications protocols. Smith said the European court ruling held broader implications for technology companies that dominate their markets, such as Apple and Google. "The decision quite clearly gives the commission quite broad power and quite broad discretion," he said. But Kroes said Microsoft's market dominance was rare. "Let me be clear -- there is one company that will have to change its illegal behavior as a result of this ruling: Microsoft," she said. "Other companies will benefit from increased opportunities to compete, to the greater good of consumers. "Anthony Woolich, head of competition law at London-based law firm LG, predicted the ruling would not trigger an avalanche of European antitrust cases Liberty Flames - libertyflames .

But he said it did serve as a warning to companies. "In the European Union, it is not a problem simply to have a dominant market position That is not unlawful," he said . "What can be a problem is if you abuse that dominant position. "--jim. puzzanghera flames gear . A coalition of environmentalists, state officials and pension-fund managers is urging the Securities and Exchange Commission to ensure that investors get more information from oil companies, insurers and other publicly traded companies about how global warming might affect their bottom lines . The group, which includes California Treasurer Bill Lockyer and Controller John Chiang, said it would submit a petition to regulators today seeking stringent disclosure of the potential risks and rewards from climate change. "Climate risk cuts across every industry in every part of the world," Lockyer said flames caps Liberty Flames . "There's certainly a growing awareness of the importance of these disclosures. "Two groups that have signed the petition -- the California Public Employees' Retirement System and the California State Teachers' Retirement System, with combined portfolios worth almost $500 billion -- are particularly vulnerable to potential global warming-related losses if they do not have access to information about the companies they invest in, Lockyer said. Recent disasters such as 2005's Hurricane Katrina underscore the need for corporations, especially those along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts, to let investors know about the threat of warming oceans and rising seas, said Mindy Lubber, the president of Ceres, a Boston-based alliance of investors and environmental groups flames merchandise . Many climate experts have blamed the ferocity of recent hurricanes on rising ocean temperatures. Lubber said her group and others have been pushing the SEC for four years to consider adding the implications of global warming to a batch of financial disclosures -- including legal judgments, pension liabilities and executive compensation -- that publicly traded corporations must file with regulators "They've said they would look into it," she said. "But there was no clear response. "SEC spokesman John Heine declined to comment on the petition ahead of its filing Liberty Flames - libertyflames . The California Chamber of Commerce, California Manufacturers Assn.