Rude-- went from Win98SE to 2000. The only complaint is I did lose My Favorites. They were saved in order to bring them up and Save into Bookmarks in Netscape. The dood thing is that was one of the files saved to CDs and was able to set all in place. Then in Mondays (4/17) issue of INFO WORLD Brian Livingston detailed an easier method.
A little news-- someone else guessing on the 'Remedies'.
(COMTEX) B: Microsoft Conduct Remedy Most Likely
B: Microsoft Conduct Remedy Most Likely
Apr 20, 2000 (Tech Web - CMP via COMTEX) -- The ticklish process of crafting a
remedy in the Microsoft antitrust case begins in earnest next week when the
government proposes how competition can be returned to the PC operating system
market.
U.S. District Court Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson ruled April 3 that the
software giant violated antitrust law by abusing its monopoly, tying its browser
to the operating system, and engaging in anti-competitive practices. The Justice
Department and 19 states weigh in with their proposed remedy by April 28.
Microsoft will counter on May 10. The government will rebut on May 17. And Judge
Jackson will convene a remedy hearing May 24.
Jackson must strike the right balance with a remedy that is strong enough to
curb Microsoft's power to let competition flourish in its dominant business, but
no more than necessary to avoid an appellate court overturning it.
From accounts leaked to the press, the possibility that the government may
request a company break-up is remote, said William Kovacic, George Washington
University law professor. "But there is still the possibility for some very
ambitious conduct-oriented controls," he said.
Core ingredients from the failed settlement negotiations would likely reappear
in a remedy, but in a stronger form and supplemented by other measures, Kovacic
said.
"What will be most interesting is how far over the horizon the restrictions will
extend," Kovacic said, specifically, to what extent does the proposed remedy
reach products and practices that were not the focus of the court's attention,
like the server market. `
The remedy order might identify specific generic practices to be controlled,
such as bundling and tying, and then specify categories of products or market
activity to which these restriction apply, he said. It may also require fuller
revelation of the applied program interfaces, or APIs.
The remedy could be for an unlimited time, requiring the company to come back at
a later time to seek to eliminate the restriction. Or the court could put a
sunset provision to expire the restriction into the remedy order, he said.
The law allows a judge's remedy to go beyond the immediate subject matter of the
trial. "But the more you deviate from products that were the subject in the
trial, the greater the level of appellate scrutiny," Kovacic said. If the
proposed remedies reach in other product areas, Microsoft (stock: MSFT) will
likely challenge the extension into other product areas, asking for more time,
witnesses, and testimony.
"This will be a difficulty for the judge and plaintiffs. The more ambitious the
controls on behavior the more protracted the remedy proceeding will be," he
said. Jackson's aim of wrapping up this proceeding on May 24 would be
unattainable, he said.
Judges have discretion at the remedy stage, but the remedy is supposed to undo
the harm of the violation or be directly related to it, said Robert Lande, law
professor at the University of Baltimore. "You've got to have a link between the
violation and, say, the server market," he said.
Microsoft critics this week cited technological tie-ins in Windows 2000
operating system targeted to the server market as evidence that the software
giant is still leveraging its monopoly.
A company break-up is not going to happen, Lande said. Jackson has said he wants
the remedy process completed in 60 days. "The judge is not going to consider
structural relief," he said. Judges almost never break up companies, he said.
"It's the corporate version of the death penalty," Lande said.
But he will hand down a package of conduct relief. It could include that
Microsoft make a version of Office that will port to Linux, a step in the right
direction toward addressing Microsoft's monopoly of the PC operating system
market. Also, the software giant may have to open its APIs and stop discounting
Windows to PC makers. A provision could put Microsoft in contempt if they
violated any of the conduct order, setting in motion contempt proceeding and
drastic fines, Lande said.
"However, all conduct remedies will be a nightmare to enforce," he said.
Copyright (C) 2000 CMP Media Inc. |
