As one news editor put it, "When pigs fly... but we can only hope! ;-)",
Microsoft Outlines Next Move in Antitrust Case Jonathan Krim http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A33198-2002Mar3.html Microsoft Corp. plans to argue in court hearings next week that if antitrust sanctions sought by state prosecutors are granted, the company would be forced to pull its latest Windows computer operating systems off the market and be unable to develop new systems. In court filings late Friday, the company said the recently released consumer operating system, Windows XP, and the business-oriented Windows 2000 system could not be redesigned to satisfy state demands that they be made available in separate versions, with and without key programs, such as the Internet Explorer Web browser. The states, in a filing Friday, plan to argue that Microsoft's claims are a "doomsday defense" and that such separation is not only feasible but essential to remedying Microsoft's antitrust violations and restoring software competition. The filings provide the first formal glimpse into how the two sides plan to approach the hearings, which pose the most serious threat to Microsoft's business practices since federal prosecutors unsuccessfully sought to break apart the company two years ago. In November, Microsoft and the Justice Department agreed on a proposed settlement that restricts the software company's conduct. Although several states that were part of the prosecution signed onto the deal, others found the agreement weak and decided to pursue tougher sanctions. The result is that the nearly four-year-old case is playing out in a complex phase that is without legal precedent. Last summer, a federal appeals court ruled that several Microsoft practices were designed to illegally preserve its monopoly in desktop computing and crush competition such as Netscape Communication's Internet browser and Sun Microsystem Inc.'s Java programming language. On Wednesday, District Court Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly plans a hearing to help her decide whether to approve the settlement deal as being in the public interest. Next week, however, the same judge will begin hearings with the states that are seeking the stronger measures. The states want Kollar-Kotelly to withhold judgment on the agreement until after they present their case. Microsoft and the Justice Department want Kollar-Kotelly to quickly rule on the agreement and then impose the same terms in the state case. The judge has given no indication of how, of if, she intends to marry the two judgments. Microsoft has asked the judge to dismiss the states' case, challenging their legal right to pursue national antitrust penalties. The company also is preparing a broad attack on the case as being inspired by Microsoft competitors, such as AOL Time Warner Inc., Oracle Corp. and Sun Microsystems, as a means of crippling the software company. "The reason the non-settling states have proposed relief that is significantly broader than the [settlement agreement] . . . is no secret," Microsoft attorneys wrote. "They seek to advance the commercial interests of Microsoft's competitors." Microsoft will assert that under the law, antitrust sanctions should not be punitive, nor should they be designed to help competitors. Rather, they should simply end the company's practices that a federal appeals court ruled last summer were anti-competitive. The company plans to call witnesses from small and mid-sized software firms to testify that splitting Windows into separate versions would be bad for the industry and consumers. Several top Microsoft officials also plan to testify, including perhaps it chairman, Bill Gates. The states argue that the only way to address Microsoft's illegal choke hold on the marketplace for operating system software, which is the core of the case, is to go beyond past violations that crushed competition which can never recover. Thus, they will present witnesses from companies such as Palm Inc. and Liberate Technologies, who will testify that software for hand-held digital assistants, television set-top boxes and other devices might serve as operating systems of the future. Microsoft is moving into these markets as well. "The special need here is for a remedy that will provide the primary platform threats to Microsoft's operating system monopoly a reasonable opportunity to develop and thereby to bring competition into the operating system market," the states said. -------------------------------------- Gino LV. Ledesma Ateneo Cervini-Eliazo Networks (ACENT) email : [EMAIL PROTECTED] web : http://cersa.admu.edu.ph/ phone : (63)(2) 426-6001 ext. 5925/5904 _ Philippine Linux Users Group. Web site and archives at http://plug.linux.org.ph To leave: send "unsubscribe" in the body to [EMAIL PROTECTED] To subscribe to the Linux Newbies' List: send "subscribe" in the body to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
