Microsoft Licenses Technology to 8 Firms

Under pressure to show that it is opening up more of its secrets to rivals, Microsoft Corp. said eight companies had agreed to license its technology for allowing powerful server computers to connect with desktop PCs.

The licenses are designed to reduce Microsoft’s advantage in the server market.

As of three months ago, only four companies had agreed to license the technology.

But in a quarterly status report filed by Microsoft and antitrust prosecutors, the software giant said it signed up four new customers at a lower price.

The most recent of those customers was SCO Group, a controversial seller of Unix operating systems for servers. SCO has sued IBM Corp. and other backers of the increasingly popular Linux operating system, claiming that Linux infringes on Unix.

Earlier this year, Microsoft boosted SCO’s credibility by agreeing to pay SCO for a Unix license.

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Joseph Menn