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Gates: I'll open source Windows!



Gates: We'll open Windows code to settle case 
By Bloomberg News
Special to CNET News.com
February 17, 2000, 3:35 p.m. PT
URL: http://news.cnet.com/category/0-1003-200-1553128.html 

Microsoft would be willing to open the source code for its Windows
software to competitors in order to settle the antitrust case filed by the
U.S. Justice Department, chairman Bill Gates said.

Microsoft is seeking a settlement with the Justice Department and 19
states that have filed an antitrust suit against the software giant and
would ''do our absolute best to achieve it,'' Gates said in an interview.

Gates said he would agree to open the source code for the company's
Windows operating system as part of a settlement, a move that would allow
competitors to create and sell their own modified versions of Windows.

State antitrust enforcers said that Gates's offer could form the basis for
further talks. They've been intrigued by the idea because it would help
dilute Microsoft's market domination without breaking up the company.

''If Gates is serious, I think it could be a significant development that
would merit further discussions among the parties,'' said Stephen Houck, a
New York antitrust lawyer who was lead counsel for the 19 states at the
Microsoft trial.

Microsoft and the U.S. government still remain far apart on terms of a
possible settlement. The government is seeking to break up the software
giant, and settlement talks so far have failed to produce an agreement.

Microsoft and the government began settlement talks after U.S. District
Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson ruled in November in an initial findings of
fact that Microsoft had a monopoly in the Windows operating system and
used the monopoly to stifle competition, harming consumers.

The company and the government will argue next week before Jackson whether
the company should be broken up. If the two sides fail to reach a
settlement, Jackson will issue a final ruling in the case in the next
several months.

The settlement talks with U.S. Circuit Judge Richard Posner, an outside
mediator appointed by Jackson, have so far failed to produce a settlement,
and prospects remain dim, according to people familiar with the
discussions.

Microsoft's Windows operating system currently runs on more than 95
percent of all personal computers.



==========================================================================
                             Paul Jones
   "We must protect our precious bodily fluids!" General Jack D Ripper
http://MetaLab.unc.edu/pjones/ at the Site Formerly Known As SunSITE.unc.edu
  pjones@MetaLab.unc.edu   voice: (919) 962-7600     fax: (919) 962-8071 
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