Microsoft to Adopt Antitrust Code By MARK H. ANDERSON Wall Street Journal
July 20, 2006; Page B4 http://online.wsj.com/article/SB115336018890111980.html?mod=technology_main_whats_news WASHINGTON -- Microsoft Corp. General Counsel Brad Smith said the company is adopting a set of voluntary principles aimed at warding off future antitrust complications involving its operating systems. The principles, he said at the New America Foundation think tank, are primarily drawn from requirements in Microsoft's settlement with U.S. regulators and will apply after some terms of the settlement expire in 2007. "The goal is to have a world-wide set of principles," he said. "Microsoft is committed both to full compliance with antitrust law and to an ongoing and constructive dialogue with governments and others in the industry." Microsoft will continue to make available licensing and installation procedures to aid competitors' software on the Windows Vista operating system it is developing. This will include giving computer manufacturers freedom to customize Windows with alternative products and create space for competitors' programs on new computers. Also, computer owners will be able to change Windows defaults to favor other programs. Mr. Smith said the company's goal is "to be principled and transparent as we develop new versions of Windows." He said new guidelines, which Microsoft pledged to review at least every three years, couldn't address "every question raised by regulators and competitors." Last week, European regulators fined the company 280.5 million ($350.8 million), for failing to comply with a 2004 order to make Windows work more easily with rival software. In the U.S., the company reached a settlement in 2002 with government regulators and several states after it was found to have illegally abused its monopoly in the market for operating-system software. ================================ George Antunes, Political Science Dept University of Houston; Houston, TX 77204 Voice: 713-743-3923 Fax: 713-743-3927 antunes at uh dot edu Reply with a "Thank you" if you liked this post. _____________________________ MEDIANEWS mailing list [email protected] To unsubscribe send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
