Microsoft plans 145;strategic shift146;, says will share more technical secrets

The broader goal, they said, is to bring Microsoft8217;s flagship personal computer products 8212; the Windows operating system and Office productivity programs8212; further into the Internet era of computing. Increasingly, people want a seamless flow of documents, data and programming code among desktop PCs and the Internet, especially as they make the shift from using software on a PC to using services on the Web.

8220;These steps are being taken on our own,8221; said Steven A Ballmer, Microsoft8217;s chief executive. The move, he said, was a recognition of Microsoft8217;s 8220;unique legal situation,8221; but it was also the company8217;s effort to adapt to 8220;the opportunities and risks of a more connected, more services-oriented world.8221;

Microsoft8217;s first step will be to put on its Web site 30,000 pages of technical documentation detailing how its Windows desktop and Microsoft server programs communicate and share information. Until now, that information was treated as a trade secret and was available only under a special license.

Ray Ozzie, Microsoft8217;s chief software architect, said that by sharing more information, Microsoft would make it easy for others to write Internet programs that tap into personal information on a PC.

That, Ozzie added, should bring new sets of Web services that, for example, might match a person8217;s calendar information with a doctor8217;s schedule. Then smart software could make an appointment. At home, he noted, someone8217;s digital collection of music, movies and family photos would be more easily shuffled to different devices and screens.

8220;The Internet opens up a world of potential innovation,8221; Ozzie said. 8220;And I think we8217;ve just scratched the surface.8221;

Microsoft announced other plans to open up its technology, like allowing developers to add more non-Microsoft document formats to its Office word processing and spreadsheet programs. Microsoft also made commitments to increase its support for industry standards and work with open-source software developers.

European regulators and others have long accused Microsoft of using its dominance in PC operating systems and software to lock out competitors. Last October, after a nine-year confrontation and a ruling against the company by Europe8217;s second-highest court, Microsoft agreed to share information with rivals on terms it had long resisted.

After the Microsoft announcement on Thursday, the European Commission issued a skeptical statement. The commission said it 8220;would welcome any move towards genuine interoperability,8221; or allowing software programs from different companies to work smoothly together. But the commission noted that 8220;today8217;s announcement follows at least four similar statements by Microsoft in the past on the importance of interoperability.8221;