As the result of a European compliance mandate tied to an antitrust litigation, Microsoft will be handing over free, unlimited support to competing software companies. The support data and documentation is to help rival vendors build systems that are as good as the Windows operating systems. The problem for Microsoft is trying to figure how much supporting documentation to give and not give away the proprietary store, say analysts. It's actually the second time the company has had to deliver such information. The first time was focused on giving server support.

For more on Microsoft's free support mandate:
- read this article at CIO Today