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

To: Maverick who wrote (7830)	5/22/1998 1:34:00 PM
From: C. Niebucc	Respond to of 74651

A federal judge Friday gave Microsoft Corp. more time to respond to sweeping antitrust charges filed this week by the Justice Department =------------= Judge Sets September Hearing For Microsoft Antitrust Case 05/22/98 Dow Jones Online News (Copyright (c) 1998, Dow Jones & Company, Inc.) WASHINGTON -(Dow Jones)- A federal judge Friday gave Microsoft Corp. more time to respond to sweeping antitrust charges filed this week by the Justice Department but not as much time as Microsoft had requested. U.S. District Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson set a Sept. 8 hearing for the government's request for for an injunction to force changes in Windows 98 software contracts, three months past the planned release date of the new operating-system software. Government attorneys were quick to claim victory, saying the ruling would lead to a speedy resolution of the case. Microsoft Thursday asked for a six-month delay and urged that a parallel lawsuit by 20 states be combined with the federal suit. The lawsuits filed Monday allege Microsoft engaged in a pattern of predatory conduct to protect a monopoly in desktop operating-system software and use that monopoly to expand into other markets, such as Internet-browser software. Microsoft vigorously disputes those charges and says the government is meddling in its right to add new features to its products and provide value to consumers. Windows 98, which will be released to customers on June 25, was shipped to personal computer manufacturers Monday. Had the judge not granted the delay, Redmond, Wash.-based Microsoft (MSFT) would have had about one month to respond to the allegations laid out in the government's 53-page complaint. In its injunction request, the Justice Department is asking the court to require Microsoft to either remove its Internet Explorer browser from Windows 98 or include Netscape Communications Corp.'s (NSCP) rival Navigator browser as part of the operating system. The states, meanwhile, would require Microsoft to add a third browser if Explorer remains bundled with Windows 98. In its filings Thursday, Microsoft said an operating system without a browser would take months, or even years, to develop and would be of no commercial value. The government has complained that Microsoft forces PC makers to accept Explorer if they want to license Windows. But the company contends the browser software shares essential files with the operating system and is thus an integral part of Windows - a fusion the company claims is allowed by a separate 1995 settlement reached with the government. In response to the government's requirement that it incorporate Netscape's browser into the Windows 98 operating software, Microsoft said that "such a mandatory carriage requirement is unprecedented outside the context of publicly regulated entities - which Microsoft is not - and would require Microsoft to make Windows 98 a distribution vehicle for a product that Netscape claims is used by more than 60% of consumers accessing the Internet." In addition, the antitrust suits seek to end Microsoft contracts with PC makers that restrict what may appear on the PC's desktop screen, the first screen that appears when a computer is booted up. For consumers, a government victory could mean more PCs that display software and links to Internet services that are placed there by the computer maker. Microsoft now requires PC makers licensing Windows to promote Microsoft products and those of its business partners on the desktop screen, which is considered a portal to the potentially lucrative world of Internet commerce and entertainment. The suits also seek to curtail the company's contracts with Internet-service providers that limit the promotion of Microsoft rivals' products. Copyright (c) 1998 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved.