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The DOJ puts Windows 7 under its microscope


By David Worthington
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March 12, 2008 —  With the clock running on its authority to oversee Microsoft’s business practices, the US Department of Justice is attempting to get its hands on as much Windows code as early as it can: It has mandated that the company submit its next major operating system for antitrust review.

A Feb. 29 report on Microsoft’s compliance with the 2002 final judgment revealed that the Justice Department’s Technical Committee (TC) involved in the case has begun examining Windows 7—the successor to Windows Vista—and its compliance with portions of the judgment that stipulate how Windows should handle middleware.

The report noted that the TC asked Microsoft to address lingering middleware-related bugs prior to the scheduled expiration of portions of the final judgment. It noted that Microsoft had resolved most of those issues to the TC’s satisfaction in the forthcoming updates to its current OSes, Windows XP Service Pack 3 and Windows Vista Service Pack 1 (SP1).

For example, Windows Vista SP1 contains fixes for two browser overrides—instances where Microsoft software ignores the user’s default Web browser preference. It also implemented agreed-upon changes to the operating system’s Desktop Search feature.

A remaining bug pertaining to Windows’ “Open With” feature will be corrected in Windows 7.The report added that the TC will continue to discuss another unspecified middleware issue that it has sought to have Microsoft resolve in Windows 7.

Microsoft delivered 32 and 64-bit versions of the first known build of Windows 7, formerly known by the codenames “Blackcomb” and “Vienna,” to partners and OEMs in January under the name of “Milestone 1” (M1). Unconfirmed screenshots and reviews were published online, but Microsoft did not confirm their authenticity—only the existence of M1.

Windows 7 will have a streamlined kernel with reduced dependencies that the company calls MinWin. It will also feature new handwriting recognition, speech and touch-screen capabilities, Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates revealed in a February interview following a speech at Stanford University.

The TC’s authority could expire before Windows 7 ships; Microsoft has indicated that Windows 7 could arrive in the 2010 timeframe, according to statements made by the company scoping out a three-year time frame for its development.

Last year, on Aug. 31, the Justice Department declared that the final judgment had succeeded in its goal to reinvigorate competitive conditions in the software industry. However, a group of seven states led by California told U.S. District Court Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly that Microsoft’s compliance with the terms of the antitrust settlement had minimal impact on its behavior, and sought an extension of the department’s monitoring, which had been set to expire in November.

In January, Kollar-Kotelly extended portions of the final judgment until Nov. 12, 2009, citing Microsoft’s failure to comply with a provision in the consent decree.





Related Search Term(s): Microsoft, Windows, antitrust


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