It turns out that European Union (EU) regulators aren't the only ones concerned with Microsoft's ability to meet its antitrust requirements on a timely basis. This week, the US Department of Justice and various US state attorneys that allied in an antitrust battle against the company complained that Microsoft was taking too much time releasing documentation related to Windows Vista.
"Plaintiffs are concerned that Microsoft has not been able to meet its original schedule and are particularly troubled that at this late hour in the program Microsoft is still discovering protocols that should have been included in the original documentation," a joint status report issued by the DOJ and the states reads. "Plaintiffs are discussing this matter with Microsoft and will report to the court further at the status conference."
Next week, representatives of Microsoft, the DOJ, and the states will meet with US District Court Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly, who oversaw the late stages of Microsoft's antitrust case and its settlement. This meeting is part of a regularly-scheduled series of meetings between the plaintiffs and Microsoft to ensure that the company is complying with the requirements of its 2003 antitrust settlement.
Microsoft issued its own status report this week, noting that it wanted to provide more "detailed and comprehensive descriptions" of some of Vista-related protocols it is documenting. Over time, Microsoft says, the documentation project has grown substantially larger than its original estimates, thus necessitating the extra time. Microsoft has already met three documentation delivery milestones. Its next milestone is April 3, when the company is expected to deliver its Vista-related documentation. Further sets of documentation are also due in May and July.