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Tables Turning (12/17/98)
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Let's face it: when it comes to "Redmond Justice," Microsoft is getting hammered. The government has trotted out witness after witness, each of whom testified that Microsoft had engaged in business activities that were, at best, "shaky" from an antitrust standpoint. True, any one of those testimonies might not be particularly damning (though some of them are), but when viewed all together, it's hard to believe that the judge isn't squarely on the Department of Justice's side right now. That could all change once Microsoft's witnesses start taking the stand, but as of now, few observers could think that Microsoft isn't at least a few points down on the courtroom scoreboard.
But what's this? Now we've got actual comments by Judge Jackson that Microsoft stands a chance. Just when it was looking like a lock (we bet Microsoft's got plenty of lawyers already working on the appeal), the Washington Post reports that Jackson sees AOL's buyout of Netscape as very possibly changing the outcome of this case. (Cue dramatic music here.) According to the judge, the proposed deal might cause "a very significant change in the playing field as far as this industry is concerned." Since Netscape would gain the benefits of AOL's sheer size and pocketbook, competition between Netscape and Microsoft in the browser market may well become a real battle again. A ray of courtroom hope for Microsoft? Very likely.
Government lawyer David Boies downplays the comments, of course, stating that a shift in the marketplace now doesn't change what Microsoft did or did not do in the past to try to force Netscape out of the market. What it clearly does change is the judge's options for corrective action if he rules against Microsoft. If Netscape becomes a formidable foe again, we're betting on a Microsoft loss generating nothing more than a slap on the wrist and a "naughty, naughty." But then again, that's pretty much all we ever expected. A breakup of Microsoft? Not bloody likely...
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SceneLink (1226)
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And Now For A Word From Our Sponsors |
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 | | The above scene was taken from the 12/17/98 episode: December 17, 1998: For those of you who were praying for a Christmas miracle, it may have come to pass; take a look at your local Best Buy to check. Meanwhile, Mac users might gain "modern" operating system features earlier than expected, and Judge Jackson indicates that the outcome of "Redmond Justice" is far from certain...
Other scenes from that episode: 1224: A Christmas Miracle (12/17/98) It may not rank right up there with George Bailey being handed bushels of cash from concerned friends and family, but it could be considered a Christmas Miracle in many circles: a $300 price drop on what we could classify as the "Furbie" of the consumer computer market (if, say, Furbies were still amazingly popular without being ugly and annoying)... 1225: Uphill Both Ways (12/17/98) "In my day, we didn't have all this 'pre-emptive multitasking' and 'symmetric multiprocessing' hoo-haa. When you wanted to run more than one application, your background tasks could slow to a crawl, or stop altogether-- and we liked it...
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