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Microsoft eases Windows license terms

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CIOL Bureau
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WASHINGTON: Microsoft Corp. has agreed to cut the cost and ease some restrictions it placed on competitors seeking to view the inner workings of the Windows program under last year"s antitrust settlement with the government.



Following complaints from some rivals, Microsoft said it would make it cheaper and easier for other software companies to access key pieces of computer code that their server software needs to function properly with the Windows operating system.



The changes could be helpful to companies such as Sun Microsystems Inc. that are battling Microsoft in the market for software that runs servers, the powerful machines that manage computer networks.



The two sides are still working on final details of the concessions, and neither side would disclose exact terms. However, the Justice Department said the changes would "substantially" revise the license terms.



The concession by Microsoft came after months of negotiations with attorneys for the Justice Department, who are charged with overseeing the landmark antitrust settlement.



"These changes are designed to make it easier for companies to license our technology. We are absolutely committed to full compliance with every aspect of our settlement, and providing responsible leadership on behalf of our industry and consumers," said Brad Smith, Microsoft senior vice president for law and corporate affairs.



As part of the settlement, Microsoft agreed to license the key operating system rules under reasonable terms.



However, Microsoft rivals who opposed the settlement have since complained that the licensing terms were anything but reasonable.



They said Microsoft had made the license so expensive that it wasn"t financially feasible and required them to sign overly burdensome non-disclosure agreements.



Ken Wasch, head of the Software & Information Industry Association, said on Monday that the changes are "encouraging" because they show the Justice Department "is taking its settlement agreement with Microsoft very seriously and is monitoring Microsoft"s compliance with the agreement vigorously."



"Nevertheless, our position is consistent -- that the agreement, even if effectively enforced, will do little to restore the competitive damage that Microsoft"s anti-competitive actions did to the software industry," Wasch said.



The settlement, endorsed in November by U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly, resolved findings that Microsoft abused its monopoly in personal computer operating systems.



Terms of the settlement were designed to give computer makers greater freedom to feature rival Web browsers such as AOL Time Warner Inc."s Netscape Navigator, as well as other non-Microsoft software, by allowing them to hide some Microsoft icons on the Windows desktop.



Microsoft also is prohibited from retaliating against computer makers that choose to feature non-Microsoft products. Nor, under the settlement, could it enter into agreements that require the exclusive support of some Microsoft software.



On April 3 Microsoft agreed to tweak another change in response to feedback over the settlement, saying it would give more prominent display to a button in Windows that allows computer users to remove the company"s Internet Explorer browser.



© Reuters

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