European Union (EU) regulators praised Microsoft today for agreeing to give its competitors some free server interoperability information. The agreement is part of the proposal Microsoft submitted last week to meet the June 1 deadline that the EU imposed. Earlier, Microsoft charged companies for the information.
"I am happy that Microsoft has recognized certain principles," EU Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes said. "I remain determined to ensure that all elements of the decision are implemented. This includes the ability for developers of open-source software to take advantage of the remedy." According to a statement that the EU released, Microsoft agreed to give competitors server-interoperability information on a royalty-free basis.
Some fine points still need to be ironed out. The EU hasn't yet discussed Microsoft's plans for Windows XP versions that don't include Windows Media Player (WMP). And Microsoft still refuses to let code that's based on its server-interoperability information be used in software that's distributed with an open-source license.
