Windows Vista in EU Antitrust Spotlight

With the $357 million financial penalty against Microsoft out of the way the past week, the EU competition regulators are shifting their focus to the upcoming Windows Vista operating system. The Redmond Company has confirmed that it is working to resolve in advance eventual EU antitrust issues related to Vista. European Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes has stated that with the latest ruling against Microsoft the commission will concentrate on the new OS version. She warned the Redmond Company that all the prior antitrust rulings against the software giant apply to the new versions of the software as well. In this context, Microsoft is expected to fall in with EU antitrust decisions with all the aspects of its future products. Microsoft "has to be avoiding those problems that we are facing now," Kroes said.

EU concerns over Vista orbit around the integration of PDF file formats in the OS's applications, an issue already resolved. Also the security elements have raised an eyebrow or two over Microsoft free integration of security software in Vista in the detriment of competitors such as McAfee or Symantec. Windows Security Center also was under discussion, but Microsoft representatives claim the program's neutral. The main concern of the European Competition Commission focuses on Microsoft disclosing technical information that will permit interoperability with rival products.

"It is absolutely our goal to bring to market a product that passes regulatory scrutiny in advance" of its release, said Brad Smith, Microsoft's general counselor, assuring that the Redmond Company means to comply in beforehand with all antitrust issues in order to avoid additional financial penalties.

"Obviously we hope that it won't be necessary -- that they'll take our concerns on board and avoid the kind of problems that they've had and are still having with the current antitrust case," stated Jonathan Todd, a spokesman for the commission, speaking about future fines.