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Technology Stocks : How high will Microsoft fly? -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Kevin who wrote (6341)	4/30/1998 2:28:00 PM
From: Maverick	Respond to of 74651

States may move quickly on MSFT, part II ''My concern is that there is in fact very active competition, the possibility of entry by other companies, in this very important area,'' said South Carolina Attorney General Charlie Condon. A senior aide in another attorney general's office said ''the problem we want to address is the exclusionary activities that involve tying and leveraging Microsoft's monopolistic position in operating systems to unreasonably restrain competition in other areas.'' A Microsoft spokesman, Mark Murray said Wednesday: ''At this point the states haven't given us any specific information on their concerns. I would hope they would tell us before there is any legal action so we can respond and try to resolve their concerns.'' With Windows 98, Microsoft significantly expands its practice of including other software products as part of the program. For example, in addition to Internet Explorer -- which competes head-on with Netscape Corp.'s Navigator Web-browser software -- Microsoft has embedded in Windows 98 its Web TV software. Web TV is a Microsoft-owned service that enables people watching television to also surf the Web. As part of its licensing arrangements for Windows 98, Microsoft is said to be planning to offer PC makers discounts on the software if they agree to install circuitry into the computers that would enable them to receive television signals. Microsoft has long said that its practice of integrating other software products was key to the company's future. After last week's federal appeals court hearing on the Justice Department suit against Microsoft, William Neukom, Microsoft's vice president for law and corporate affairs, said: ''This case involves a fundamental principal for us, the freedom of high-technology companies to continue to innovate on behalf of our customers. Part of innovation has to be integration. We are going to continue to integrate products.'' The attorneys general and their aides all say they hope to act in concert with the Justice Department. But several attorneys general said it was important to act before Windows 98 goes on sale because any law suit will become significantly more complicated once computer manufacturers begin buying the new program and installing it on customers' machines.