Microsoft revealed yesterday that it will be disclosing hundreds of pieces of proprietary software code from the Windows operating system over the next few weeks, as part of its antitrust settlement with the US Justice Department. The company claims that the disclosure of such technical information will enable rival software developers to create programs that interoperate with the monopolistic Windows system.

The software giant settled its four-year antitrust case with the US Department of Justice and nine US states in November. The US government had accused Microsoft of anti-competitive conduct which disadvantaged rival software products and key provisions of the settlement agreement aim to allow computer manufacturers to customise their own products with Microsoft software.

Although the settlement agreement has yet to be approved by a federal judge and is still opposed by nine state attorneys who are seeking stricter sanctions, it is reported that the US government wants Microsoft to start complying with its terms as soon as possible.

Microsoft will disclose 272 Windows Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) later this month. APIs are pieces of internal Windows computer code which Microsoft claims will assist developers to write applications compatible with Windows. The APIs, which were previously kept secret, will be available free of charge.

In addition, the company will reveal 113 proprietary protocols which computer server manufacturers will be able to licence and use in order to make their machines compatible with Windows desktops. Pricing details for the licensing agreements have not been disclosed.

The company has further revealed that upcoming versions of Windows XP will include mechanisms that allow manufacturers and consumers to add and remove access to certain features, such as Internet Explorer and Outlook Express, and set defaults for rival software.

Microsoft has stated, however, that “for security reasons” it will not disclose a certain Windows programming interface and one server protocol.

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