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

To: Sir Francis Drake who wrote (23536)	6/2/1999 2:54:00 PM
From: t2	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 74651

How about this as a settlement solution: MSFT allows PC makers to drop Internet Explorer if they wish or substitute it with Navigator. All MSFT has to do is start advertising to the consumer using phrases such as "insist on Windows98 with IE since it is free anyways" as opposed to a stripped down version of Windows98. Consequently, a PC maker would be very reluctant to work out exclusive browser deals with AOL since it would do them more harm than good. Therefore, MSFT maintains its control of browsers and no one has anything to complain about. That would solve most of the problem--at least as far as Judge Jackson is concerned. I believe a settlement is imminent without ever getting a ruling determining whether MSFT has a monopoly. It would not surprise me to see a settlement within 1 week. However 1 to 2 months is more realistic.

To: Sir Francis Drake who wrote (23536)	6/2/1999 3:02:00 PM
From: t2	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 74651

Economists send letter to Clinton to stop anti-trust nonsense. quote.bloomberg.com Economists Send Letter to Clinton Decrying Antitrust Actions Economists Send Letter to Clinton Decrying Antitrust Actions Washington, June 2 (Bloomberg) -- President Bill Clinton was urged by a group of 240 economists to curtail his administration's antitrust enforcement. The Independent Institute of Oakland, California, in newspaper advertisements covering almost a full page, said the administration has acted in behalf of competitors to alleged antitrust violators and not for consumers. Investigations of such companies as Microsoft Corp., Intel Corp. and Cisco Systems Inc. short-circuited the free-market economy by responding to protectionist demands of companies, the institute said in an open letter to Clinton. ''Antitrust is supposed to be about protecting consumers against higher prices and other consequences of monopoly power,'' the letter said. ''However, consumers did not ask for these antitrust actions -- rival firms did.'' Consumers of high technology have benefited from falling prices, expanding outputs, and new products and innovations, the letter added. David J. Theroux, president and founder of the institute, said that administration ''policies can only slow competition, raise prices, impede technological innovation and waste taxpayer dollars.'' The administration has repeatedly defended its conduct of major antitrust investigations, arguing in the Microsoft trial, for example, that its aim is to prevent monopolists from excluding competitors and harming consumers. The Independence Institute, founded in 1986, describes itself as a non-partisan public policy research and educational foundation