Bored to tears by summer reruns? Fret not, drama junkies-- it's almost "Redmond Justice" time once again! As faithful viewer Rick Stolba was kind enough to remind us, this is the week in which both Microsoft and the government are to submit their respective summaries of the facts in the case as each side sees them. Think "Cliffs Notes," but hundreds of pages long, without the funky black and yellow striped cover, and available in separate Good and Evil editions. (It's up to you to decide which version is which. Hey, even Cliffs Notes can't do all the work for you.) An Associated Press article has more on this next big step.

Microsoft, predictably, will focus on what they feel is the government's utter failure to prove that the Redmond Giant even holds a monopoly, let alone hurts consumers by abusing one. To support that view, it's expected that Microsoft will pounce all over a slip made by the government's own economic witness, Franklin Fisher, who admitted on the stand that Microsoft's actions haven't harmed consumers "up to this point." We can only hope that the government's summary will retaliate by using the words of Microsoft's own economic witness, Richard Schmalensee ("SHMALENSEE!!"), against them; his claim that Microsoft holds no monopoly because real competitors might show up in the future seems appropriate, no? Anyway, each side gets a month to go over the other side's summary, and then they will be able to make revisions to their own filings and return them by September 10th. Then it's back into the courtroom for more arguments on the 21st, so clear your viewing schedules.

The latest episode in the "Redmond Justice" saga is certainly one step closer to the final fade to black, but don't worry: Judge Jackson's decision in the case isn't expected until sometime next year. That assumes, of course, that the two sides don't settle out of court first. Ongoing attempts at settlement negotiations have been somewhat less than successful so far, despite Bill Gates' claim that "we've always wanted to settle this thing." A New York Post article notes a Gates interview in The New Yorker, in which he gives his usual spiel about needing to retain the "right to innovate," yadda yadda yadda. We've heard all that a million times before. The Post article is really noteworthy, though, because it goes on to mention glimpses into Gates' character unearthed by The New Yorker. For instance, one of Gates' friends reveals that he's a bad sport; during a game of charades, when he found his team was losing, Bill "accused his friends of cheating. 'You're not allowed to do that! Wait a minute! This is an infraction!' If he couldn't win, he'd find an infraction. It was absurd." Suddenly all the pieces fall neatly into place, don't they?