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MS Windows XP Service Pack Complies with Consent Decree

MS Windows XP Service Pack Complies with Consent Decree
By Java News Desk
Article Rating:
January 1, 2000 12:00 AM EST
Reads:
 5,093

(September 17, 2002) - In compliance with a federal antitrust proposal, Microsoft Corp. has released Windows® XP Service Pack 1 (SP1). The free software, a 133-megabyte upgrade, allows computer makers and users the option of hiding five Microsoft products: Windows Java Virtual Machine, Windows Messenger, Windows Media Player, Internet Explorer browser, and Outlook Express e-mail package. Those products can then be replaced with products from competing companies.

The product interchangeability is a requirement of the proposed consent decree signed with the U.S. Department of Justice and nine state attorneys general. This is just one of many components of the compliance effort undertaken by Microsoft since the consent decree was signed in November 2001. The antitrust agreement has not yet been accepted by a federal judge, but Microsoft has already agreed to follow its requirements. The U.S. district judge could still reject the agreement and impose harsher provisions that were requested by the states in the antitrust action.

Microsoft has stated that Windows XP Service Pack 1 will bring enhanced security, reliability, and compatibility to business and home users. Windows XP SP1 includes all of the security patches available via Windows Update. It also contains all updates resulting from the Windows code review conducted earlier this year as part of the Trustworthy Computing initiative.

Service Pack 1 for Windows XP can be downloaded from http://www.microsoft.com/WindowsXP/pro/
downloads/servicepacks/sp1/default.asp

Published January 1, 2000 – Reads 5,093
Copyright © 2000 SYS-CON Media, Inc. — All Rights Reserved.
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Most Recent Comments
Paul 09/18/02 10:12:00 AM EDT

A monopoly is owning the file format? Doesn't Star Office read Word, Excel, etc... ? Isn't there software for reading these document types on Palm? How is that controlled by Microsoft?

Feel free to invest in an open file format... save all your documents in HTML. It's open. There's lots of free editors.
Brian 09/18/02 10:03:00 AM EDT

This doesn't solve the problem. What we need are the file formats to be open for Word, Excel, etc. Windows made its mark not because it was a good OS, but becuase it had better applications and was simple and cheap. If the fileformats were open other OS' and tools could compete on functionality as it is now, if you can't read a word doc the platform looses considerable value. If you have to pay for license to open the format MS still wins. That is were the monopoly is.