Microsoft opens Windows, but reverts to old competitive playbook

One key addition to Windows 11 seems to undermine the company’s image of openness. Microsoft said it will bundle its Slack-killer, the Teams conferencing and communications software, directly into Windows, accessible with one button on the bottom of a user’s screen. — AFP

Microsoft Corp’s Windows 11, the latest iteration of its 35-year-old personal computer operating system, boasts loads of new of features meant to position the software giant as the polite child in a classroom full of big bad technology bullies. The update also has at least one change that hearkens back to the days of Microsoft’s own anticompetitive behaviour.

At the software’s Thursday debut, Microsoft touted developers’ choices to avoid app commissions, emphasised the ability to use outside app stores to download rival programs, and said it’s offering promotions and financial rewards to small and local news creators. All these points served to let Microsoft shine a light on how it’s different than some of its rivals – Apple Inc, Alphabet Inc’s Google and Facebook Inc.