Microsoft in Windows U-turn to appease courts
- Posted:
- 13:15 12 Jul 2001
The move follows last month's US Court of Appeal ruling that Microsoft agreements with computer manufacturers to bundle its Internet Explorer software with the Windows operating system were illegal.
The move was not a court-ordered remedy but is widely seen as a bid to pre-empt court orders ahead of the 25 October launch of Windows XP.
Under the plan, computer makers will be given more flexibility to configure desktop versions of the company's Windows operating system, including putting the icons of non-Microsoft products on desktops and removing some Microsoft icons.
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Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer said the company was making the move because, "we recognise that some provisions in our existing Windows licence have been ruled improper by the court".
Tim Bajarin, president of consultancy Creative Strategies, said the move was the first concrete sign that Microsoft was willing to curb its business practices and that it demonstrated the software giant's desire for a negotiated settlement to its anti-trust court battle.
"This is one of their first volleys to show the industry that they are willing to be somewhat flexible. It's clear Microsoft is listening closer and - they really are looking for some kind of settlement rather than pushing forward indiscriminately," he said.
However, Bajarin said many Microsoft PC manufacturing partners, such as Dell, were unlikely to remove the Internet Explorer browser from the desktop. Many users have become "conditioned" over the past two years to use Microsoft's browser software, he said, and PC makers may be reluctant to yank their browser of choice.
Some analysts thought the Microsoft move was tokenistic. "It's a little too late for Netscape," said Chris Le Tocq, an analyst for Guernsey Research. "Why would an original equipment manufacturer remove Internet Explorer as the browser when most of their customers expect to use it anyway?"
"Essentially, what Microsoft is doing here is moving from a war waged over browsers to a war which will be waged over media formats and Web services," he added.
Rob Enderle, research fellow at Giga Information thought the concessions were the only way Microsoft could guarantee shipping Windows XP on 25 October. "They're just trying to make sure XP gets out the door," said. "They have no window to let this product slip at all."
The court's ruling made it clear that if Microsoft did not make concessions on the product, it would have been blocked, Enderle added.
