The "Wall Street Journal" has obtained a confidential document sent from European Union (EU) antitrust regulators to Microsoft last month, warning the software giant that a release of its Windows source code would not meet the EU"s requirements. Last week, you may recall, Microsoft announced with great fanfare that it would release portions of its Windows source code in a bid to meet its overdue EU antitrust requirements. Microsoft general console called the move "a bold stroke" when it was announced.
The Windows "source code was never asked for nor indeed welcomed," a British computer scientist wrote in a report describing Microsoft"s botched attempt to meet European antitrust demands. You may recall that EU antitrust commissioner Neelie Kroes said she was "surprised" that Microsoft made the source code offer last week. Given this revelation, her comments can be put in perspective: She"s surprised because the EU specifically told the company that a source code release would not meet its requirements.