Windows 7 Info
Microsoft has talked up a 2010 release for Windows 7, putting the ship date after the expiration of the degree. But that may be moot, since the bulk of the operating system's development will take place during oversight. In any case, Kollar-Kotelly made it clear that there's nothing stopping her from extending the decree again. "The door likewise remains open for the court to reassess the need for continued oversight as the expiration of the final judgments in November 2009 approaches," she said in her January ruling.
Almost certainly, Windows 7 will have to toe the line from start to finish. That may, said Gartenberg, make Microsoft hesitate to add much new to Vista's follow-on. "There are any number of things that it might want to add to compete with Apple and Linux," said Gartenberg. "Microsoft has to announce features, but not in a way that locks out OEMs from making changes. It has to provide some degree of open access to Windows 7."
That push and pull -- push for more features to entice users to upgrade from Vista or XP, pull back to ward off possible antitrust conflicts with the regulators, the TC and Kollar-Kotelly -- is unique to Microsoft, said Gartenberg.
"Is Microsoft at a disadvantage here? Absolutely. No one else has this degree of oversight. No one's telling Apple, for example, that it can't include iTunes with Mac OS X."
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