Microsoft’s opponents seek new vistas

Microsoft may still be smarting over its failure two months ago to overturn a landmark 2004 European Commission ruling ordering changes in its business practices. But the American software giant has adopted a positive outlook, making a bold foray into the world of merged applications with a preview last week (5 November) of its soon-to-be-launched platform Sync Framework.

The technology has been developed in preparation for a world in which differences between web and desktop applications slowly dissolve. Sync Framework allows synchronisation of online and offline data to ensure seamless interaction between different environments. It is said to be a step ahead of Google Gears, a toolbox launched in May by the search giant for building offline applications into web-based applications.

Microsoft’s rivals will be taking note. The firm is still under scrutiny since losing its appeal at the European Court of First Instance (CFI) against the Commission’s 2004 ruling, which mainly concerned product bundling and the sharing of sensitive source code that would permit rivals access to its technologies.

On the latter point, Microsoft has announced its willingness to bow to the 2004 ruling, pledging to offer source code to rivals on reasonable terms. "We announced the things we will do around the licensing and pricing of protocols," says Jan Muehlfeit, chairman of Microsoft’s European division. "We will continue to discuss the matter with the Commission and they declared they will keep a close eye on our activities."

Rivals will, however, be keen to ensure that the principles of the CFI ruling on code sharing are also applied to Microsoft’s new applications. The European Committee for Interoperable Systems (ECIS), an industry coalition, has raised fresh concerns over the interoperability of Microsoft’s new PC operating system, Vista, which was launched this year. ECIS lodged a complaint with EU antitrust regulators last year, believing that Vista will allow Microsoft to extend its market dominance to the internet through the use of a new web programming language XAML and a file format known as Open XML. Although the standards are currently open, ECIS fears that the Microsoft could repeat past behaviour by encouraging their use before shutting out rivals by wielding patent rights.

"The case for the ECIS complaint should now be much more solid," says Carlo Piana, of developers’ collective FSFE, the Free Software Foundation Europe, who followed closely Microsoft’s appeal at the CFI. "The CFI decision confirmed [that] the legal theory of the Commission’s 2004 ruling was correct. The same theory of law applies to the new complaint. It still concerns interoperability."

Microsoft still appears to be in conciliatory mood, having renounced all prospects of a further appeal. "We need to look into the future. It [the 2004 ruling] was the cloud in the sky in our relationship with the Commission," says Muehlfeit. "The impact of the ruling is that whenever we develop products we carefully look at any areas of concern in terms of anti-competitive behaviour."

Microsoft may still be smarting over its failure two months ago to overturn a landmark 2004 European Commission ruling ordering changes in its business practices. But the American software giant has adopted a positive outlook, making a bold foray into the world of merged applications with a preview last week (5 November) of its soon-to-be-launched platform Sync Framework.