To be honest, we really thought we'd be completely sick of the whole "Redmond Justice" thing by now, but it somehow manages to keep our attention. Just what is it about the case that keeps us coming back? Is it the behind-the-scenes glimpses into the sordid power struggles between ruthless corporations? The fascinating views into the arguably immoral and possibly illegal ways these corporations make incomprehensible amounts of money? The way these rich people are forced to defend their choices and actions while grilled by antagonistic lawyers? The atomic clash when an Irresistible Question meets an Immoveable Ego? Well, duh.

Seriously, though, this whole antitrust thing is still going strong and will continue for several more months. The thing is, we no longer doubt that it'll stay riveting until the very end. There's a great article in Computer Reseller News about why the trial is so closely watched, and it's not just because it's the first big antitrust case dealing with software monopolies. It's because the case has just about everything anyone would ever want in a Tom Wolfe bestseller: "money, power, greed, scandal, politics, race, media, and the prospect of a powerful man... being brought down to size." (Sure, there's no sex, but there are still plenty of witnesses left to testify.) The article does a great job of analyzing the "sweeping drama" of the whole mess and paints very vivid characterizations of some of the major players.

Plus, it gave us another reason to root for the Government's side: lawyer David Boies reportedly always wears black Nikes in court. While he's portrayed as more poorly-dressed than Microsoft mouthpiece John Warden, we have to cheer for anyone who would wear sneakers to court-- especially during such a momentous case. (Yours Truly once turned down a job offer based almost solely on footwear considerations-- if I can't wear skate shoes, I don't belong there.)

The relationship between Apple and Microsoft has always been strained, awkward, and soap-operatic, with a buddy-buddy smile worn for public appearances. What else would you expect, given the nature of their business positioning? Since Microsoft makes both operating system software that directly competes with Apple's Mac OS and application software that runs on the Mac OS, things are unsurprisingly confusing and full of mixed messages. Steve Jobs may have declared the Operating System Wars over back in August of 1997, but as evidence he pointed to that historic (and now infamous) agreement between the two companies which has since been revealed via "Redmond Justice" to be no more than a smiley face slapped on a high-tech extortion racket. At least, if Avie Tevanian's public airing of dirty laundry is to be believed, the real thrust of that "agreement" was that if Apple didn't agree to settle its patent disputes and also make Internet Explorer the default web browser for the Mac OS, Microsoft would cancel Office 98 for the Macintosh.

Well, now you can get your own user license for that extortion-flavored bargaining chip (plus a brand-spanking-new Power Mac) for a new low price! The mask goes back on as Apple tries to show that everything between Redmond and Cupertino is just peachy, regardless of all that niggling little antitrust stuff. What better way to show that Apple and Microsoft are still the best of friends than by releasing a new Power Mac configuration pre-loaded with Office 98? According to MacCentral, the new model is essentially a stock Power Mac G3/266, but with a built-in 56K modem, 64 MB of RAM, and Office 98 conveniently pre-installed on the hard drive. (You also get Internet Explorer and Outlook Express-- was there ever any doubt?) This new configuration, which we've dubbed the "Détente Special," is expected to cost about $1800 and is targeted squarely at the SOHO market.

Seriously, folks, if you need a new Power Mac and you also need to use Office, this new bundle sounds like a great deal-- Office typically sells for about $450. We Mac users seem to be going through that syndrome whereby the kids get lots of expensive presents while the parents are filing for divorce. Don't look a gift horse in the mouth-- this demonstration that "Microsoft and Apple continue to be great partners after more than 17 years of both competing and cooperating in the software industry" could save you a few hundred bucks. (It's available from the Apple Store, as well as from other resellers.)

The PC Price Wars are getting pretty fierce. Apple has long been the expensive choice on the shelf, but with the iMac's $1299 price tag, it seemed that they were finally going to be able to compete in the low-end consumer market; sure, it didn't break that magical $999 barrier that analysts had labeled as the sweet spot, but it was close-- and the cuteness factor plus ease of use attracted a lot of buyers willing to pony up the extra few hundred. The iMac was announced back in May, though-- these days, there are $599 PCs showing up on store shelves, and Apple again may be perceived as the expensive option, $29.99 a month or no $29.99 a month. Now there are even reports of computers costing $400, or even $300, coming down the pike. Where will it all end?

Well, according to TechWeb, MacWEEK founder Michael Tchong thinks he knows. At the Streaming Media 98 Conference in San Francisco last week, he proclaimed that "in five years most PCs will be given away." The idea is that PCs will become inexpensive enough to produce that the cost of manufacturing them will soon be completely offset by advertising. These "free" PCs would be given away by advertisers who would have their logos plastered all over the desktop, ads inserted into each email message sent and received, banners popping up every time an application is launched, etc. If you think that "Get QuickTime Pro" ad is annoying, you ain't seen nothing yet. Tchong sees this process as the natural progression from other free-but-advertisement-heavy promotions, like Juno (a free email service that made you look at ads) and Mountain Dew's free pager scheme. If you've lived through the commercialization of the Internet, Tchong's vision may sound unlikely (and perhaps really, really frightening), but certainly not impossible.

Hmmm, so what do you think-- would you use a free iMac if everything you did on it was branded with an Aquafresh ad? Our guess is that if AdPC's ever come about, they're going to be very low-end, restricted to extremely basic capabilities (like running only certain pre-loaded word processors and web browsers), and only used by households that wouldn't consider spending even $300 on a "real" computer. In fact, it sounds like a WebTV module with ads permanently added. Whether or not Apple could ever profit from such a scheme is entirely a matter of speculation, but there's a lot of market share out there still left to be had. Who knows how things could look in five years? Heck, five years ago we didn't even have the PowerPC.