Google wins latest battle with Microsoft over Windows Vista
Thursday, 21 June 2007
Print
Email
Google has chalked up a victory over Microsoft in a legal battle over its rival's operating system, Windows Vista.
Under pressure from competition authorities, Microsoft has agreed to make it easier for Vista users to switch from the built-in desktop search tool to using Google's alternative Google Desktop function. The capitulation is a blow for Microsoft because it had trumpeted its improved search tool - which combs through a computer's hard drive and the users' emails looking for information - as a key selling point for Vista.
Google's concern mirrored the long-running competition complaints over how Microsoft integrated its web browser, Internet Explorer, and other applications with Windows to the detriment of other software developers.
Microsoft has been operating under a Justice Department consent decree since a 2001 settlement, and Google said Vista violates the promises of good behavior that Microsoft made at that time. More than a dozen US states had also been examining Microsoft's behaviour, weighing the possibility of legal action in support of Google.
Under the terms of a deal agreed with the Justice Department and the states, Microsoft will let computer manufacturers and consumers select a default desktop search program similar to the way they can select defaults for third-party web browsers and media players in Windows Vista. Microsoft will also provide information to developers of third-party desktop search programs about how they minimise any performance problems.
Brad Smith, Microsoft's general counsel, said: "We're pleased we were able to reach an agreement with all the states and the Justice Department that addresses their concerns so that everyone can move forward."
The changes by Microsoft are a "step in the right direction", Google's chief legal officer David Drummond said in a statement. "But they should be improved further to give consumers greater access to alternate desktop search providers."
Vista, the latest version of the Windows operating system, was released to consumers in January and is now installed on most new PCs. Microsoft is constantly updating the software to iron out early bugs, and the changes to the search tool will be introduced by the end of the year, it said.
The Justice Department and the states "are collectively satisfied that this agreement will resolve any issues the complaint may raise under the final judgments, provided that Microsoft implements it as promised", according to a joint filing made in a federal court in Washington.
The skirmish between Google and Microsoft is the latest between the pair. Google, which began as an internet search engine, is coming into competition with Microsoft in an increasing number of areas. It has launched software such as online word processors and spreadsheets that compete with Microsoft Office, while Microsoft's MSN is a rival internet search engine.
