Microsoft to change Vista over search concerns

Responding to complaints from the search engine company Google, and the concerns of competition regulators, Microsoft has agreed to modify its Windows Vista operating system.

At issue was the programme to search for files, e-mails, documents or spreadsheets on a computer’s
hard drive.

Google had complained to the US Justice Department that the search tool built into Vista slowed down rival search programmes, including the one offered by Google.

It said that violated a competition settlement that Microsoft reached with the authorities in 2001.

Microsoft will now build in an option to let users select whichever desktop search programme they choose on personal computers running Windows.

It will also give technical information to companies like Google so that their programmes can run more smoothly with Vista.

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