Harsh Words for Microsoft Technology – NYTimes.com — This woman is still the biggest hurdle if Microsoft thinks it can buy Yahoo and get away with it.

“I know a smart business decision when I see one — choosing open standards is a very smart business decision indeed,” Ms. Kroes told a conference in Brussels. “No citizen or company should be forced or encouraged to choose a closed technology over an open one.”

She did not name Microsoft in advance copies of her speech, but she made her meaning clear by referring to the only company in European antitrust enforcement history that has been fined for refusing to comply with orders — a record held by Microsoft.