Gates presses ahead with 'Longhorn' despite EC ruling
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Bill Gates brushed off the EC ruling against his company and its alleged market abuses by insisting that test copies of the next major update of Windows will be shipped as planned by the end of 2004.
30 March 2004 Bill Gates appeared to brush off the European Commission (EC) ruling against his company and its alleged market abuses by insisting that test copies of the next major update of Windows will be shipped as planned by the end of 2004.
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Gates, appearing at analyst firm Gartner's conference in San Diego, also said it was "valid speculation" that the commercial versions of the 'Longhorn'-codenamed operating system would appear some time in 2006.
He added, however, that it was not a "date-driven release", unlike some Microsoft products.
'Longhorn' has been subject to delays in the past, but an informal timetable of late-2004 for the 'alpha' version and late-2006 for the commercial version is believed to have been in place for some time. Significantly, its release does not appear to have been affected by the EC ruling.
Speculation that Microsoft might feel compelled to alter the make-up of 'Longhorn' – perhaps by selling some components separately – has been rife since the EC judged that its practice of 'bundling' new features, such as video applications with the Windows operating system, amounted to an abuse of market power.
By sticking to Longhorn's informal schedule, Microsoft is indicating that its plans for the release have been unaffected by the developments in Brussels.
Leaked copies of initial versions of 'Longhorn' suggest the operating system will be bundled with new security features, an updated file server and an embedded search engine product.
While some Microsoft executives and legal advisers have expressed barely disguised dismay at the EC's judgement, Gates gave little away when pressed about his reaction.
He acknowledged that there were issues still to be resolved, although there "will be several more years of process in Europe" to get to that point. He added: "People want more capability in Windows. There are some legal issues about how we package that up, how we license it, how we engineer it."
The EC imposed a record fine of $615 million on Microsoft last week. It also ordered it to open up key product interfaces to competitors and told it to unbundle its Media Player package from Windows.
Importantly, the ruling is designed to set guidelines for Microsoft's future actions as well as punish it for alleged past transgressions. Although it is a matter of conjecture, legal experts argue that Microsoft might face fresh legal challenges if it continues to bundle new features already available from other suppliers in future versions of Windows.
The ruling has provoked anger among many US politicians and the EC has reportedly come under intense pressure to reach a settlement with the software giant.
