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Technology Stocks : All About Sun Microsystems -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: JC Jaros who wrote (27921)	2/17/2000 6:04:00 PM
From: alydar	Read Replies (3) \| Respond to of 64865

Gates Says Microsoft Would Open Windows Code to Settle Case San Francisco, Feb. 17 (Bloomberg) -- Microsoft Corp. would be willing to open the source code for its Windows software to competitors in order to settle the antitrust case filed by the U.S. Department of Justice, Chairman Bill Gates said. Microsoft is seeking a settlement with the Justice Department and 19 states that have filed an antitrust suit against the software giant and would ``do our absolute best to achieve it,' Gates said in an interview. Gates said he would agree to open the source code for the company's Windows operating system as part of a settlement, a move that would allow competitors to create and sell their own modified versions of Windows. State antitrust enforcers said that Gates's offer could form the basis for further talks. They've been intrigued by the idea because it would help dilute Microsoft's market domination without breaking up the company. ``If Mr. Gates is serious, I think it could be a significant development that would merit further discussions among the parties,' said Stephen Houck, a New York antitrust lawyer who was lead counsel for the 19 states at the Microsoft trial. Microsoft and the U.S. government still remain far apart on terms of a possible settlement. The government is seeking to break up the software giant, and settlement talks so far have failed to produce an agreement. Microsoft and the government began settlement talks after U.S. District Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson ruled in November in an initial findings of fact that Microsoft had a monopoly in the Windows operating system and used the monopoly to stifle competition, harming consumers. The company and the government will argue next week before Jackson whether the company should be broken up. If the two sides fail to reach a settlement, Jackson will issue a final ruling in the case in the next several months. The settlement talks with U.S. Circuit Judge Richard Posner, an outside mediator appointed by Jackson, have so far failed to produce a settlement, and prospects remain dim, according to people familiar with the discussions. Microsoft's Windows operating system currently runs on more than 95 percent of all personal computers. Feb/17/2000 17:26 For more stories from Bloomberg News, click here. (C) Copyright 2000 Bloomberg L.P.