Microsoft unconcerned about OEM's Vista antitrust complaint

Redmond (WA) - Late today, Microsoft spokesperson Jack Evans responded exclusively to TG Daily about our report on the US Dept. of Justice Antitrust Division’s monthly status report on the company’s antitrust compliance, which mentioned that an unnamed OEM had complained to the Antitrust Division about a key provision of Microsoft’s forthcoming Windows Vista operating system.

The provision, which was identified as "Welcome Center," is a panel that users see when the operating system is booted for the first time. It was created to comply with directives of the company’s antitrust settlement with the government, that the operating system provide equal access to all OEMs who want to install special software packages in order to customize Windows for their customers. The nature of the unnamed OEM’s complaint was not spelled out in detail, though it can be presumed that company did not feel Microsoft was not giving that company the equal access to which it’s entitled.

In response, Microsoft’s Evans told us, "We have worked closely with our partners throughout the development process to ensure Windows Vista provides unprecedented flexibility and opportunity to them, while remaining faithful to the goal of putting people first."

While Evans declined to speculate on the identity of the unnamed OEM, a Wall Street Journal article published this morning tells a story of Hewlett-Packard’s ongoing negotiations with Microsoft to enable HP to endow Vista with its own greeting screen, called HP Advisor. HP learned, the Journal says, that compliance with Microsoft’s support programs required HP to utilize Welcome Center instead, and that HP has been in negotiations with Microsoft for several months to clear up the matter. The story includes a quote from HP Executive Vice President Todd Bradley, "Our belief is we should provide our customers with choice," which may or may not serve as affirmation of this story.

On another matter, Microsoft’s Evans responded to the Antitrust Division report’s praising of the company for its efforts to comply with settlement terms specifying that Microsoft expand its efforts to make Windows more interoperable. Similar terms from the European Commission in its 2004 decision were the subject of a complaint from the EC in December, which has led to a ruling from the EC ordering the company to turn over more documentation.

"We’re encouraged that the Department of Justice views our source code offer as constructive," stated Microsoft’s Evans. "We believe access to Microsoft source code, combined with the extensive documentation and free technical support, provides programmers with everything they need to implement the Windows communication protocols."