Here, from a different AP wire story, is a nice three-line summary of the real heart of the matter:
"Gates said the talks ultimately broke down because "the Department of Justice and the states were not working together."
"Between them, they appeared to be demanding either a breakup of our company or other extreme concessions that go far beyond the issues raised in the lawsuit," he told reporters in a conference call."
But a lawyer close to the case described Gates' comments as "nonsense." The lawyer told Reuters that, "Microsoft flatly rejected the Justice Department's proposal and insisted on its own approach which was filled with loopholes and trapdoors."
Microsoft will concede nothing of substance. All their concessions, I feel certain, have been window dressing. They will give in only when all appeals are exhausted and federal marshals are at the door. Those guys will go down with the ship, and take their shareholders with them, for one simple reason: their egos are too big to do anything else. The actions they claim "benefit consumers and the industry" in fact benefit only themselves.
Humans engage in a lot of doublethink (in fact you could argue that that's all we engage in), but this is a particularly prime example.
--QS
Edit: Bush is now their last best hope. Dr. Nihil, who of course understands the law better than the trial judge, believes the Supreme Court will vindicate Microsoft. I disagree (and admit that I don't understand the law at all), but I fear that it won't come to that because a Dubya DOJ will almost certainly settle on Microsoft's terms. |
