Government unhappy with MS settlement compliance
Microsoft Corp. is taking too long to alter how much it charges competitors for technology that is necessary for their products to work with the software giant's systems, the Justice Department told a federal judge yesterday.
In a written report card on how well Microsoft is complying with its 2001 antitrust deal with state and federal prosecutors, Justice Department lawyers said they might need the court to force Microsoft to act more quickly. In other areas of the settlement, department lawyers praised Microsoft's compliance.
In a move that should surprise no one, MS is trying to wiggle it's way out of the settlement. MS is required by the settlement to make some code available for liscense, but they have set the fees so high that only four companies have done so.
What the government doesn't realize is that lowering the price won't encourage companies much. Companies don't really want access to MS code, they want MS to publish the interface specifications. Code access is a poor second option because it's less usefull and is liable to force you into permanent liscense with MS because of IP contamination.
Jay