DOJ Makes Compliance Visit to Microsoft

Microsoft’s antitrust compliance in developing Longhorn, the next-generation
Windows operating system, will be part of the Department of Justice’s (DoJ)
agenda when investigators travel to Redmond next week.

The regularly scheduled quarterly visit is part of ongoing efforts
between the DoJ and Microsoft to ensure the company
complies with the terms of the landmark 2002 settlement.

As part of that settlement, Microsoft agreed to make it possible for vendors
and end users to substitute competing middleware products, such as media
players and browsers, connected to the Windows operating system.

While the initial compliance focus has been on Microsoft’s current XP
operating system, a joint report by the DOJ and Microsoft released earlier
this month said the DoJ is also monitoring Microsoft’s Longhorn compliance.
The report is the first of what will be semi-annual status updates mandated
by the settlement agreement.

“Early attention to these issues will enable plaintiffs and Microsoft to
address any potential concerns in a timely manner, before the final
structure of the product is locked into place,” the report states.

At a Monday court hearing in Washington, U.S. District Judge Colleen
Kollar-Kotelly, who presided over the settlement agreement, said she was
pleased
with the results of the status report.

“On the whole, it is a positive report. We have a system that’s in place
that’s moving along,” Kollar Kotelly said in a brief open court session.

According to the report, the DOJ investigators are also testing
Microsoft’s upcoming Service Pack 2 for antitrust compliance.

The next version of Microsoft’s OS is expected in late 2005 or early 2006,
with the next server OS release due 18 months later.

Longhorn will include a new
graphics system, now called Avalon; a messaging protocol, which is code
named Indigo; and WinFS, which enhances the NTFS file system
with technology from SQL Server and Windows SharePoint Services.