Well, then I'll pick a conclusion of the court, which I disagree with. The judge made a big point of arguing that the browser should be kept separate from the system, since some consumers, he said, preferred a system without any browser, and others preferred a browser different from the Internet Explorer, without having to keep IE running while a different browser is used.
I would argue that it is in the consumer's interest to have a browser operate seamlessly as part of the system - for those consumers who use browsers. But a fully integrated browser should not be available solely to users of the Internet Explorer. Microsoft should make available its code to Netscape or any other browser developer so that the browser can be incorporated into the system. If MSFT doesn't like that solution, then it should agree to keep IE as a separate application. To allow ONLY the IE to be fully integrated in the system is one more example of unfair competition, and that's what this case is about.
Obviously, there are ways to solve this problem without breaking up the company. What the Justice Department wants is a level playing field. I'm sure that's what all the companies who've been hurt by anticompetitive behavior want as well. Even if a different administration has to finish the job, the problem won't go away. For if nothing else, Judge Jackson has, through his findings of fact, given the individually damaged companies a factual basis to pursue their own claims, should they so desire.
Microsoft can stonewall this whole matter, arguing they've done nothing wrong, appealing where and when necessary, and dragging everone through the court system, hoping that one or more plaintiffs will finally get tired and abandon the whole business. Such a strategy would be tantamount to admitting that, after all, the government was right, and that Microsoft wasn't good enough to prevail on the merits of its products but had to resort to legal stonewalling to prevail.
Frankly, given the muscle that companies like IBM can wield, I doubt very much that such a strategy will work. Individual companies or states are free to pursue claims even if the federal government decides not to pursue the matter as part of a policy change in some future administration. The smart thing for MSFT is to own up, settle out of court, and thus avoid having to admit on record that there was any wrongdoing. That would ultimately be the smart thing for Microsoft shareholders as well. |
