Microsoft has said it is offering computer manufacturers greater flexibility in configuring desktop versions of its Windows operating system.
The announcement follows a recent ruling by the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia that instructed Microsoft to offer computer manufacturers more flexibility in the choice of Internet browsers they would be able to install on their computers.
"We recognise that some provisions in our existing Windows licences have been ruled improper by the court, so we are providing computer manufacturers with greater flexibility", said Microsoft CEO Mr Steve Ballmer.
He said the announcement does not prevent settlement talks with the US government of any other future legal action to be taken by litigants in the anti-competitive case that is being taken in the US.
Earlier this year, the appeals court in the US ruled that certain provisions in Microsoft's licences with PC manufacturers impaired the distribution of third-party Web browser.
Microsoft as undertaken to offer manufacturers:
- the option to remove the Start menu entries and icons that provide end users with access to the Internet Explorer components of the operating system. Microsoft will include Internet Explorer in the Add/Remove programs feature in Windows XP.
- the option to remove the Start menu entries and icons that provide end users with access to Internet Explorer from previous versions of Windows, including Windows 98, Windows 2000 and Windows Me.
- the option of putting icons directly onto the Windows desktop. Microsoft had designed Windows XP to ship with a clean desktop and improved Start menu, but PC manufacturers will now have the option of continuing to place icons on the Windows desktop if they want to.Consumers will be able to use the Add-Remove Programs feature in Windows XP to remove end-user access to the Internet Explorer components of the operating system.