Microsoft Opens Windows, But Reverts to Old Competitive Playbook

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 behavior.

At the software’s Thursday debut, Microsoft touted developers’ choices to avoid app commissions, emphasized 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.

IPhone maker Apple is fighting off a lawsuit over commissions charged in its App Store, with Microsoft backing plaintiff Epic Games Inc., and Google and Facebook have fought against Australian rules requiring them to compensate creators for news articles appearing on their ubiquitous search and social-media platforms. All three, along with Amazon.com Inc., are under intensifying scrutiny from global regulators over their gargantuan market power.