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To: djane who wrote (47109)	5/19/1998 3:24:00 AM
From: djane	Respond to of 61433

Mr. Katt rumor. Qwest to announce more deals with RBOCs Something's going down, and it's not the economy By Spencer F. Katt 05.18.98 www8.zdnet.com Has the free world fallen? Has the economy crumbled? Has the capitalist machine been crippled? Looks like Chairman Bill was wrong. After Microsoft cried uncle to the Department of Justice and 19 states last week, agreeing to delay shipment of Windows 98 by one business day, the Power Meower waited for Armageddon. After all, Gates and his pep-rally cronies just about predicted the country's next Black Friday if the shipment was interrupted. The market didn't collapse, but Microsoft did. All the action apparently happened behind the scenes, when Microsoft decided to raise the white flag (or the DOJ and states got cold feet, depending on how you look at it). So how much pull do Pfeiffer, Dell, Halpin and crew have in Texas? Must be a lot, since they squeezed Texas Attorney General Dan Morales out of last week's action. Pretty surprising, considering Texas was the first state to start pushing Microsoft around more than a year ago. When it rains, it pours, and it's been teeming in Seattle for nearly two weeks. That's probably why no one at the Redmondian monster could muster much panic last week. El Gato was walking the campus halls there--after being buzzed inside without any Microsoft handlers in hand--and it looked like business as usual. The lax security was probably to blame when one 20-something Microserf was almost abducted last week, after a man jumped from the bushes and duct-taped her feet. Fortunately, the campus police showed up in time to foil any further mayhem. The one-day delay of Windows 98 may not cause any such disruption for OEMs. Good thing, as direct marketers Dell and Gateway have enough problems with service to keep them busy. According to one Katt confidant, after his parrot gobbled the Windows key on his keyboard, he called Dell service for a replacement. The tipster expected Dell to ship him a new key. Instead, the service rep said, "Ship me the keyboard, and we'll replace it"--to the tune of $159! One poor Gateway customer told the Tabby his $3,000 G6-300 went on the fritz just a month after purchase and while under warranty. When Gateway techs couldn't find the source of the problem, they blamed everyone but themselves and told the user he was on his own. Customer service ain't what it used to be. At least Microsoft reps are working overtime to please people. When one Internet Explorer user called tech support because he couldn't download the 128-bit encrypted version of the browser at the company's Web site, the help desk helper replied, "Try Netscape's site." It may have felt like the Microsoft-DOJ-states duel was the only game in town, but big things were happening in the world of telecom, too. In addition to the SBC-Ameritech megamerger, long-distance provider Qwest Communications was busy. After Qwest reached two joint selling agreements for local and long-distance services with RBOCs US West and Ameritech, look for the upstart long-distance provider to announce more RBOC deals in coming weeks. Interestingly, the two recent deals with US West and Ameritech mark a departure in approach between Qwest CEO Joseph Nacchio and Brian Thompson, the CEO of Qwest's planned merger partner, LCI International--and actually put LCI and Qwest in direct competition until their merger is completed. Have a tip? Contact Rumor Central by phone at (781) 393-3700 or via e-mail at spencer_katt@zd.com. Send E-mail to PC Week \| Copyright notice