Microsoft and the Opening of its Source Code: True Interoperability on the Horizon?

Sandra Sieber, e-Business Center PwC&IESE

11/17/2008
(Original Publish Date: 12/1/2005)

The announcement to open part of its code comes at a crucial time in terms of Microsoft's future. It comes just a few days prior to the publication of an EU record fine for a single company, amounting to 899 million euros, precisely for charging inflated royalty prices for the code information it provides to developers so that they can make products that are compatible with its Windows operating system. This ruling puts Microsoft's total fine at over 1.7 billion euros. Obviously, the European Commission has given little credibility to this announcement, waiting instead for the real facts to emerge, since this is the fifth time the multinational from Redmond has made such an offering.