B.K., you want a silver lining on the antitrust front, try this, re: NT5.
I hear that the more features crowd was winning by a landslide up until a month ago when the product groups started reporting to ballmer. rumor has it that ballmer, who probably has a better idea of what features are really needed in the market, has rearranged priorities around getting to closure.
That was local poster rudedog, a few days back, in 10402 here. Ballmer's official promotion to president is, I'd think, good for the company. If he takes more control of day-to-day operations and getting software out the door, things may look up. Meanwhile "politically naive software engineer" Bill can continue in control of the legal defense and lobbying effort. A lot to juggle there, with UCC article 2B and WIPO on the table, plus getting the Chinese to come around to the proper view of "property rights", not to mention "honesty". Plus his normal itinerary of hobnobbing with various heads of state.
Not that I see Bill as particularly good at those tasks, of course, but it's still somewhat peripheral to Microsoft making money.
As to "new charges" leveled yesterday, well, that's one point of view. Others say that consent decree, Sherman suit are two different actions. Another recycled news piece, since I'm not supposed to waste time looking up new ones: economist.com./editorial/freeforall/microsoft_case/ld5082.html
However, Bill Gates should hesitate before he pops the champagne. Whether or not Microsoft indulged in "tying" is not the key point at issue in the broader case. True, that question matters because the DoJ believes that Microsoft has used tying as a tactic to maintain its market power. More important, though, is whether, as a monopolist, Microsoft has behaved in a way that is inconsistent with its legal responsibilities. The appeals court did not deal with this charge. Mr Gates, writing in The Economist two weeks ago, also dodged the issue. Yet the evidence, much of it in the form of emails sent by Microsoft employees, is disturbing.
That's that well known Thatcherite Tory Pinko Rag, The Economist, from a couple months back. Formerly Bill's favorite, allegedly. They weren't much impressed by Bill's invited reply, pressing one of many current lines, that the current action is about exactly the same thing as the consent decree case.
Cheers, Dan. |
