Pardon Us If We're Skeptical

In the long history of commerce and corporations, I think it's fair to say that self-policing tends not to be the most effective method of ensuring fairness toward competitors or customers.

But according to this CNET News.com story:

Microsoft pledged on Wednesday that all of its future operating systems, including Windows Vista, will abide by self-imposed rules aimed at bolstering choice and competition.

This solemn vow by Microsoft general counsel Brad Smith "will come into play after major parts of a U.S. government decree related to the landmark U.S. antitrust case against the software maker expire next year," the article reports.

Specifically, Smith said at a Washington think-tank luncheon, users and manufacturers will be allowed to alter default settings, install any software, and remove Windows features.

[The voluntary principles] reflect the fact that Microsoft has learned a lot in the nine years since the U.S. government launched its antitrust probe in earnest. Chief among those lessons, Smith said, is the recognition that Microsoft has "a special responsibility both to advance innovation and to help preserve competition in the information technology ecosystem."

It's no surprise that Redmond prefers self-policing to what it has earned in recent years through numerous marketplace misbehaviors:

The announcement comes just a week after the European regulators slapped the company with a $357.3 million fine for noncompliance with a 2004 antitrust ruling. In addition, several U.S. antitrust-related provisions imposed on Microsoft by a federal court run out in November 2007. The company agreed with federal and state prosecutors in May to extend certain parts of the judgment related to licensing of its communications protocols until 2009.

But given this and this, you have to wonder how much Microsoft really has learned.