Microsoft Corp. said on Monday it has agreed to cut the cost and ease some restrictions it placed on competitors seeking to view the inner workings of the Windows program under last year"s antitrust settlement with the government.
Following complaints from some rivals, Microsoft said it would make it cheaper and easier for other software companies to access key pieces of computer code that their server software needs to function properly with the Windows operating system.
The changes could be helpful to companies such as Sun Microsystems Inc. that are battling Microsoft in the market for software that runs servers, the powerful machines that manage computer networks.
The two sides are still working on final details of the concessions, and neither side would disclose exact terms. However, the Justice Department (news - web sites) said the changes would "substantially" revise the license terms.
The concession by Microsoft came after months of negotiations with attorneys for the Justice Department, who are charged with overseeing the landmark antitrust settlement.