Ibexx & all, - "DOJ likely won't block Microsoft Windows 98- WSJ"
biz.yahoo.com
NEW YORK, March 12 (Reuters) - The Justice Department probably won't block Microsoft Corp's
(MSFT - news) Windows 98 software from coming out with a version that includes Internet browsing
software, the Wall Street Journal said Thursday in its electronic edition.
However, citing people close to the case, the Journal said the government may ask a U.S. District Court
judge to order the company to also offer a separate Windows 98 version without Internet software.
The Judge, Thomas Penfield Jackson, issued an order in December covering Windows 95, the current
version of the program.
A Justice Department spokesman said no decision has been made on the government's next step, the
newspaper said.
This move wouldn't derail a separate, broader antitrust case against Microsoft, the newspaper said.
However, the probable requirement that Microsoft offer the separate verion of Windows, with access to
the browser hidden, would likely be fiercely resisted by the company, according to the Journal. The
company says it hasn't violated antitrust law and that move further limits its ability to innovate. |
