[ale] [SE2600] [news] Microsoft Takes It in the Ass on Monday (fwd)

[Ben Phillips]

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Date: Sat, 16 May 1998 20:21:40 -0600 (CST)
 From: CyberVox <cybervox at mindless.com>
Reply-To: 2600 at martek.net
To: se2600 <2600 at martek.net>
Subject: [SE2600] [news] Microsoft Takes It in the Ass on Monday



(Reuters) - Talks collapsed Saturday between Microsoft 

Corp. and government officials, making likely the filing of a big

antitrust suit against the software giant Monday.Representatives of the


U.S. Justice Department and 20 states held two days of talks in

Washington in a bid to explore whether a settlement could be reached to


avoid a lawsuit."It appears that it's over," for a negotiated

settlement, said a source close to the state attorneys general. "It

looks very likely that the state attorneys general will file on Monday,"

he added."It seems pretty clear that everybody is going to sue on

Monday," the source said.The Justice Department confirmed in a brief

statement that the talks were over. "At this point they are not expected

to resume," it said.Federal and state governments had been poised to

file antitrust suits on Thursday but agreed to talks in return for

Microsoft agreeing to delay Friday's shipment of its Windows 98

operating system to computer makers until Monday.Microsoft chairman Bill

Gates said he was "very disappointed" by the breakdown in the talks.He


said the company had "worked hard for 10 days" to make the negotiations


succeed because he felt it was likely a compromise could be reached."But

the government made some non-negotiable demands that were very surpising

to us," Gates said in a viedeotaped response distributed by Microsoft. 

"The government is going to file a lawsuit. Microsoft is innocent of any

of these charges and we're certainly going to defend ourselves

vigorously," he added.Gates said the company would go ahead with its

planned June 25 public release of the updated version of the enormously


popular Windows 98 software "now that the government has decided to

sue." Shipments will begin Monday.The states and the Justice Department


have readied a major complaint accusing Microsoft of abusing its power


and driving competitors from the lucrative software market.Microsoft's


critics charge it has unfairly competed by incorporating more and more


features into its Windows operating systems and using its dominance to


dissuade computer makers from removing its screen icons and products.But

the company says it is giving consumers the best operating systems

possible by integrating features like its Microsoft Explorer web browser

into Windows 98.The source close to the states said the talks ended when

Microsoft withdrew a major concession it had offered Thursday to allow


computer makers to modify the startup screen consumers see when they

switch on their computer for the first time. "They (Microsoft) walked

away from the discussion," the source said.But Gates said state and

federal lawyers had wanted to force computer makers to ship Windows 98


with a rival Internet browser made by Netscape Communications Corp.,

among other unreasonable demands.Microsoft has been battling with the

Justice Department for several years now. In 1994 it signed an agreement

which says it cannot require computer makers who license Windows to also

license any other software product, but Microsoft may develop

"integrated products."Experts expect the next round of Microsoft versus


the Justice Department to rank among the top antitrust cases in U.S. 

history such as the 1982 AT&T agreement to split into the Baby Bells or


the 1911 dismantling of Standard Oil.But the government failed in its

other foray into computers, dropping a case against International

Business MachinesCorp. in 1982 that it opened back in 1969. 




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