Curiouser and curiouser: Yesterday throughout the morning the local Seattle business radio station was reporting as fact, not rumor, that the DOJ and AG's had made an announcement that there would be no injunction against XP, which would be allowed to ship on schedule. The reason given was that DOJ and AG's didn't want to be seen as hurting the economy by damaging the ailing PC sector, which was depending on Windows XP for a recovery. The story didn't appear elsewhere yesterday, and I was wondering why the story was spiked. Still not very well explained, but somewhat addressed in this morning's Seattle Times:
Friday, August 10, 2001 - 12:00 a.m. Pacific
Political jockeying surrounds XP debut
By Brier Dudley
Seattle Times technology reporter
Anonymous government sources are coming out of the woodwork to talk about the Microsoft antitrust case, including one who said Windows XP will be allowed to ship Oct. 25 without legal interference. But one legal expert following the case said the leaks may simply be a negotiating tactic.
"The game hasn't been played out yet," said Ernest Gellhorn, an antitrust expert at George Mason School of Law in Arlington, Va., following the case.
If nothing else, the leaks reflect a new, more political approach the landmark case is taking as it enters the home stretch.
Yesterday U.S. Reps. Jay Inslee, D-Bainbridge Island, and Jennifer Dunn, R-Bellevue, with the backing of 120 members of Congress, sent a letter encouraging Attorney General John Ashcroft, Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller and Microsoft to "reach a just and speedy conclusion to this case."
While refraining from taking sides in the case, the two representatives in Microsoft's home territory echoed the company's call for a settlement "on reasonable terms that support competition and innovation."
Two weeks earlier, the Senate announced it would hold hearings on issues of the case, and Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., called for an injunction blocking release of Windows XP, the new version of the operating system.
Also yesterday, an unidentified White House aide told Bloomberg News that President Bush was briefed on the government's possible next steps in the antitrust case, which was seen by analysts as a precursor to the government taking action against the company.
Microsoft spokesman Vivek Varma refused to discuss the leaks, legal tactics or possible negotiations. "I don't have any comment on any of that stuff," he said.
Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller, lead attorney in the state coalition pursuing the case, denied there was any consensus on whether to block XP, but declined further comment.
"The states have not made a decision on whether to take any action regarding the release of XP," said Miller's spokesman, Bob Brammer.
Tracking this case is like watching a chef simultaneously cooking an appetizer, entrée and dessert.
Lawyers for the company and prosecutors are simultaneously:
• Preparing for the case to re-enter a remedy phase, in which a U.S. District Court judge will decide what should be done about Microsoft's illegal monopolistic behavior.
• Readying themselves for a possible hearing before the Supreme Court, requested Tuesday by Microsoft.
• Dueling over whether the case should be put on hold while the Supreme Court mulls whether to take it.
• Attempting to settle the case outside of court, a process involving negotiations between Microsoft, the U.S. Department of Justice and the 18 states pursuing the case.
If the government has decided not to block XP's Oct. 25 release, that does not mean Microsoft has a green flag, Gellhorn said.
Such a decision may be part of the give and take of settlement negotiations.
The "give" may be letting the product ship, and avoiding a fracas with computer makers counting on the software to invigorate sales during the holiday season and beyond.
The "take" may be conditions the government may impose on XP, before or after it ships, to ensure it's not used to illegally extend Microsoft's monopoly.
Gellhorn said a possible condition may be ordering Microsoft to remove screen icons linking users to other Microsoft services or products, such as its media player.
After the Appeals Court ruled on June 28 that Microsoft illegally forced conditions on computer makers through its software licenses, the company agreed to let them add icons for competing products such as America Online Internet service.
But this week the company disclosed that it will still require at least three desktop icons linking to Microsoft products — its MSN Internet service, Windows Media Player and Intenet Explorer browser — if icons for competing products are installed.
Computer makers may enable users to remove Internet Explorer, but in that case they have to place the Microsoft Moviemaker program icon on the desktop, said Jim Cullinan, lead XP product manager.
If computer makers opt for the bare desktop Microsoft prefers and instead add links to the program Start menu — which is a layer below the desktop — they must preserve three of eight slots on the menu for Microsoft products.
Cullinan said computer makers were told of the requirements in late July.
"We've been pretty clear with our (computer-maker) partners about this," he said.
Brier Dudley can be reached at 206-515-5687 or bdudley@seattletimes.com.
Copyright © 2001 The Seattle Times Company |
