Microsoft News Tracker

Ted Bridis at the AP/Yahoo!:

Already Under Antitrust Scrutiny, Microsoft Backs Off Exclusive Music Contracts Amid Protest

WASHINGTON (AP) — Microsoft Corp., already under government scrutiny over its behavior toward competitors, told manufacturers of iPod-like portable audio devices that they were not allowed to distribute rivals’ music player software, but then pulled back after one company protested.

The Justice Department said the incident was “unfortunate,” but that government lawyers decided to drop the issue because Microsoft agreed 10 days later to change the contracts. The government disclosed details of the dispute in a federal court document made available Thursday.

The disputed contracts would have affected portable music players that compete with Apple Computer Inc.’s wildly popular iPod.

More details by following the link.

Sam Gentile:

The WinFX Sept CTP will not install on 5231 rendering this build of Vista useless for anything other than eye candy.

Rob Relyea responds:

If you are doing WinFX development with the WinFX September CTP you should stick with Windows Vista 5219 (PDC release) or XP or Server 2003 for now.

Windows Vista 5231 released yesterday to msdn members (and other beta participants) is not compatible with the WinFX September CTP. Unfortunately, we don’t have a matching WinFX build for this build of Windows Vista.

The good news is that we have since fixed this problem, so all future Windows Vista public releases will include WinFX with it.

While bad news from the development point of view, there has been some detailed tire kicking and I expect some compatibility testing from folks who expect to initially support Vista in Win32 compatibility mode.

Nate Mook at BetaNews:

After over two years in development, the final version of OpenOffice.org 2.0 has been made available for download. The productivity suite offers a word processor, spreadsheet, presentation builder and a database — all for free and available in 36 languages for Windows and Unix based platforms.

Perhaps the most notable addition in OpenOffice.org 2.0 is support for the OASIS OpenDocument format, which could prove to be the first true rival to Microsoft’s proprietary Office formats. OpenDocument is a completely open standard that has been chosen for use by several countries and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

More feature details by following the link as well as downloads of the Windows, Linux, MacOS and FreeBSD versions hosted by BetaNews. You’ll need them because right now www.openoffice.org seems to be hammered by downloaders.

Here’s something different:

Microsoft Announces Seven-Figure Sponsorship Deal With Owners of London’s Iconic Wembley Stadium

U.S. software giant Microsoft Corp. announced a seven-figure sponsorship deal with the owners of London’s iconic Wembley Stadium, home of the England soccer team, Thursday.

The five-year deal makes Microsoft the stadium’s first “founding partner,” a title the stadium is reserving for only its largest sponsors and which comes loaded with perks.

Wembley will be wired up with the latest information technology from Microsoft as it enters the final stages of its 757 million pound (US$1.3 billion; euro1.1 billion) rebuild.

In return, Microsoft’s logo will be seen by millions passing through the stadium’s turnstiles when it reopens in 2006, as the deal allows the company to place 100 branded “plaques” around the stadium. Microsoft will also get a box on the halfway line and exclusive use of the 90,000-seat venue for one day each year.

Yesterday Microsoft revised the terms for its Shared Source program, but said they had no plans for formal OSI approval as Open Source. Today, Mary Jo Foley has an update:

Microsoft officials repeated that they are holding off from seeking OSI approval of its new licenses for a variety of reasons. Representatives from the Redmond software vendor did meet with “a quorum” of the OSI board to obtain initial feedback on the licenses, as noted in an OSI-issued statement on Microsoft licensing.

Details by following the link. She suspects there is some negotiating going on.