retirado do nytimes.com http://www.nytimes.com/2002/12/24/technology/24SOFT.html
Microsoft Loses a Round to Rival Sun By AMY HARMON federal judge ruled yesterday that Microsoft must include the Java programming language of Sun Microsystems with the Windows operating system, handing Sun a victory in its private antitrust case. In granting a preliminary injunction sought by Sun, the judge forced Microsoft to confront what would be perhaps the most intrusive penalty yet to stem from court rulings that it broke federal antitrust laws. The judge, J. Frederick Motz of Federal District Court in Baltimore, also indicated that he would order Microsoft to stop shipping a version of Java that Sun contends damages the chances of its own version because it is outdated and creates confusion among programmers about which one to use for developing software. "In the final analysis, the public interest in this case rests in assuring that free enterprise be genuinely free, untainted by the effects of antitrust violations," Judge Motz wrote in his ruling. Microsoft said it would appeal the ruling. Sun's antitrust lawsuit, which also seeks at least $1 billion in damages, is one of several currently before Judge Motz that have been filed in the wake of Microsoft's long-running antitrust battle with the federal government and a coalition of state attorneys general. In that case, a federal appeals court found in 2001 that Microsoft had repeatedly broken antitrust laws by undermining Sun's Java technology and Netscape's Web browser, which together could have evolved into a competitor to its Windows monopoly. Windows runs on about 90 percent of the world's computers. Judge Motz's decision appears to reflect a different opinion about the measures necessary to restore competition from that of Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly, who last month endorsed a settlement of the government suit. Judge Kollar-Kotelly rejected a proposal by nine states dissenting from the settlement that would have required Microsoft to carry Java with Windows. But during preliminary court hearings earlier this month, Judge Motz appeared more sympathetic to the notion that he should try to level the playing field. Microsoft, he said, had hobbled Sun Microsystems the way Tonya Harding's supporters kneecapped Nancy Kerrigan, a rival Olympic figure skater, before the 1994 Olympics. He also compared Microsoft to a baseball team that had stolen game signals from the other side. In asking for the injunction, Sun said that if it waited until its lawsuit against Microsoft was settled it would be too far behind to compete even if it prevailed. Microsoft has developed technology known as .Net that competes with Java. Both programs are designed to let programmers write software that runs on many kinds of operating systems and platforms, from network dataservers to personal computers to cellphones. Judge Motz wrote that if Microsoft's system was to remain dominant, "it should be because of .Net's superior qualities, not because Microsoft leveraged its PC monopoly to create market conditions in which it is unfairly advantaged." Legal experts said the ruling was particularly significant because to issue a preliminary injunction — ordering Microsoft to include a competitor's software with its own — the judge had to decide both that Sun was likely to succeed in the lawsuit and that it would face "irreparable harm" if the injunction were not issued. Andrew Gavil, a professor at Howard University who has followed the antitrust case closely, said that Judge Motz might have issued the injunction in part because he was persuaded by one of Microsoft's major arguments before both himself and Judge Kollar-Kotelly: that it is impossible to measure whether nascent technologies like Java and Netscape would have evolved into a serious competitor to Windows. "If it's true that it would be difficult for Sun to establish what damages they suffered then one solution is to keep the damages from happening," Professor Gavil said. "Otherwise Microsoft gets to argue, `Who knew if it would have evolved into a competitor?' In a sense that might have worked to Sun's favor before Motz." The ruling may also signal how Judge Motz may lean in a case he is overseeing filed by Netscape Communications, now owned by AOL Time Warner. The judge is also handling cases filed by Be Inc. and Burst.com, as well as cases filed by class-action lawyers suing on behalf of consumers. "All I can say is we're disappointed with today's ruling and still need to review the details of the court's decision," Jim Desler, a Microsoft spokesman, said. Sun executives said the ruling would clear up confusion among software developers and spur innovation. "There has been a cloud over much of what we do because of the fragmentation created by Microsoft," said Richard Green, vice president for developer products at Sun. "This alleviates all of that. It is an enormous win for Sun and other members of the Java community." Shares of Sun Microsystem, which closed at $2.96 in regular trading, rose as high as $3.48 after hours. While the ruling might be a legal milestone, some industry analysts said it would probably be too late to have a significant effect in the market. In 1995, when Java became widely available, Sun hoped that Web developers would use it to make Internet browsing a much richer, more interactive and useful experience for a wide range of users. But now it is largely used inside corporations for custom applications. "Had Microsoft not undercut Java the way it did it would likely be more popular on desktops today," said David Smith, an analyst at Gartner Inc. "But now there are other alternatives. This is certainly a plus for Java and a negative for Microsoft, but the fact is you can't turn the clock back." -- Atenciosamente, Marcelo Raposo Cerqueira Esta mensagem foi enviada através do WEBMail A TARDE ON LINE 2002 ------------------------------ LISTA SOUJAVA ---------------------------- http://www.soujava.org.br - Sociedade de Usuários Java da Sucesu-SP dúvidas mais comuns: http://www.soujava.org.br/faq.htm regras da lista: http://www.soujava.org.br/regras.htm historico: http://www.mail-archive.com/java-list%40soujava.org.br para sair da lista: envie email para [EMAIL PROTECTED] -------------------------------------------------------------------------
