To: Big Kahuna who wrote (10464 ) 9/2/1998 2:33:00 PM From: Daniel Schuh Read Replies (2) | Respond to
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. economist.com ./editorial/freeforall/microsoft_case/ld5082.htmlHowever, 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. 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.
