Microsoft to give access to code

SiHH

SiHH

SiHH

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I think this is unfair on Microsoft. Ok so they are dominating and monopolising but at the end of the day the consumer has a choice.. and there ARE alternatives.

Why should Microsoft be penalised for being successful ??






Microsoft has said it will give rival software companies access to parts of the source code for its Windows operating system. The concession was made in response to a 2004 European Union (EU) anti-trust ruling which ordered the company to share its code with competitors.

It came three weeks ahead of the EU's compliance deadline, which threatened fines of 2m euros (£1.4m; $2.4m) a day.

The code will help rivals make their software compatible with Microsoft's.

"Today we are putting our most valuable intellectual property on the table so we can put technical compliance issues to rest and move forward with a serious discussion about the substance of the case," said Microsoft's legal chief, Brad Smith.

Record fine

The compliance deadline was set in December when the European Commission said that Microsoft's offer of 12,000 pages of documentation and 500 hours of free technical support was not adequate.

The landmark 2004 ruling said the world's biggest software company was guilty of abusing its position and hit Microsoft with a record 497m euros fine, telling it to open up its operating systems.

Microsoft said that the latest concession went "far beyond" the 2004 decision.

It maintains that it has tried to comply with the EU's demands, but says that Brussels keeps changing it guidelines.

The EU's second highest court, the European Court of First Instance, will hear Microsoft's appeal against the 2004 ruling in April.
 
It's not really that substantial. Microsoft has given third parties and individuals full access to their source code for years. They are just going to expand that list a little bit. Also there's a hefty price tag for each source file that the company wants to view.

It is mostly useful to universities/colleges. There's not much a professional developer can actually learn from the source code because all the public interfaces are fully documented on MSDN anyway.

Every company/individual has to sign an NDA (non-disclosure agreement) that they won't disclose or profit from knowing how Windows works under the hood. So again, it is of questionable use to companies like, oh say, Real Networks.
 
NathanE said:
It's not really that substantial. Microsoft has given third parties and individuals full access to their source code for years. They are just going to expand that list a little bit. Also there's a hefty price tag for each source file that the company wants to view.

It is mostly useful to universities/colleges. There's not much a professional developer can actually learn from the source code because all the public interfaces are fully documented on MSDN anyway.
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Yes but the above article states they have been forced too.

That is unfair.
 
Yes I agree it's unfair however it was likely used as a bargaining tool by Microsoft's lawyers. Everybody (including the Judge) will think Microsoft has just changed its orbit by about 500 million miles but really they haven't changed it at all :p
 
NathanE said:
Yes I agree it's unfair however it was likely used as a bargaining tool by Microsoft's lawyers. Everybody (including the Judge) will think Microsoft has just changed its orbit by about 500 million miles but really they haven't changed it at all :p
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I think that depends which parts of the source code they are giving them access too ?
 
This code is still only available to those that pay a (large) fee for the license, so really it's not hurting Microsoft that much and in fact could be seen as a benefit to them.

So basically Microsoft have been "forced" to offer another license for extra server code. I bet Bill is really annoyed about this. ;)

Source: BetaNews
 
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