Microsoft has agreed to allow computer manufacturers to install
non-Microsoft programs on desktops running Microsoft operating
systems, though Bill Gates’ company will be allowed to continue
bundling new programs with Windows. Microsoft will also make
certain concessions to competitors, including the disclosure of
server protocols so that competing desktop software can run as
effectively on Microsoft’s server platforms as Microsoft’s own
products.
However, there are Attorneys General representing individual 18
US states that are also parties to the case and they have not yet
agreed to the terms of the deal struck with the Department of
Justice. They may seek to continue the case against Microsoft,
although doing so could be problematic.
The news of settlement has already provoked criticism. Ken
Wasch, President of the Software & Information Industry
Association, a major US trade association, said:
"The reported settlement agreement,
stunningly, will not change either Microsoft's business practices
nor its software implementations one iota… In addition, the
purported settlement permits Microsoft to continue to technically
tie the monopoly product of the Windows operating system to various
middleware products, in direct contravention to the findings of
fact affirmed unanimously by the Court of Appeals.
"It is inconsistent with the demonstrated,
growing effects of Microsoft's monopolistic acts in the internet
market. Remarkably, the purported settlement appears to be less
than the interim remedies ordered by Judge Jackson prior to the
unanimous Court of Appeals ruling… It does nothing to promote
competition and innovation despite years of documentation to the
contrary."
