Russian antitrust officials look into XP-Vista transition
When Microsoft announced plans to inject $300 million into the Russian economy, cynics suggested it was an attempt to stave off the interest of competition officials. If that was the case, it appears to have failed.
The Russian government’s anti-monopoly agency says it is to investigate claims that Microsoft is intentionally limiting supplies of Windows XP to try to prompt users to buy Vista instead, which may violate Russian law. It’s also looking into the pricing of XP.
It noted that both retailers and the government itself have displayed an ongoing demand for XP, but that “analysis of the market for various operating systems shows that the transfer to the new Windows Vista operating system is occurring while demand for the previous operating system, Windows XP, continues.”
By ‘transfer’, the agency appears to be referring specifically to the way Microsoft makes the two systems available, rather than the general upgrade process. It says there is no “economic or technical justification” for reducing XP supplies.
Microsoft told Reuters it hasn’t received official confirmation of the investigation but will answer any charges. A more detailed statement is expected later today.
Some form of investigation has been on the cards since April when the government officially classified Microsoft as having a dominant market position. This didn’t inherently indicate any wrongdoing, but did mean officials began ongoing monitoring of the firm’s behavior rather than waiting for a specific incident.
Later that month, Microsoft announced a program of investment in Russia totaling $300 million. This included building extra training centers, giving free software to start-up firms, building a technology center in Moscow and supporting the 2014 Winter Olympics.
News of the investigation comes in a bad week for Microsoft in Russia. Around 20 ATMs in the country and neighboring Ukraine which ran Windows XP have been found to have been compromised through malware. Once the machines are infected, criminals with a specially created bogus bank card can print out copies of previous receipts (including confidential card data) or even simply force the machine to dispense money.
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