Microsoft will remain under court supervision in relation with a United States antitrust settlement for another two years, or until November 12, 2009. This ruling comes after a filing by 10 states to have it extended until 2012.

Excerpt from PC World:

Kollar-Kotelly wrote that her decision comes in part due to Microsoft’s delays in making technical documents available to software licensees as required by the court, especially those related to communications protocols… after more than five years, communications protocols are still not available to licensees “in a certifiably complete, accurate, and useable form,” she wrote. The ruling is intended to give Microsoft time to accomplish that task.

Ironically, she also wrote that:

The Court’s extension should not be viewed as a sanction against Microsoft; to the contrary, the Court commends Microsoft for its willingness to cooperate with the Plaintiffs in this action and in United States v. Microsoft in negotiating solutions to issues as they have arisen throughout the past five years.

Are there any network programmers privy to the protocols that Microsoft is supposed to open up? It is hard to imagine a company as cash-rich and driven as Microsoft to be so slow in this aspect. Why do you think Microsoft is dragging its feet here?