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More Courtroom Fun (9/21/99)
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It was a return to the good old days as "Redmond Justice" headed back into the courtroom for closing arguments. In fact, it was sort of a "clip show," highlighting all those precious moments from past episodes near and dear to our hearts... Sadly, this was the final episode of the long-running drama to take place in front of a live studio audience-- at least, it represents the end of courtroom arguments in a case that's been entertaining viewers since the antitrust suit was filed last year. Faithful viewer Jerry O'Neil (who gets credited on AtAT so often we're going to have to add him to the permanent cast list one of these days) pointed out some of the best coverage over at CNNfn.
When we say it was a "clip show," we mean it. As both sides rehashed their respective cases, they revisited lots of familiar ground while taking "below-the-belt pot shots" to keep the audience entertained. First up: the government, represented by Smilin' David Boies and the phlegmatic Stephen Houck. Surprisingly, Boies played it mellow, magnanimously letting Houck grab the easy points with quotes like "no matter how much Microsoft complains that it is not a monopoly, everyone knows it is a monopoly" and "I won't comment on Mr. Gates's credibility, but everyone has seen enough to make their own decisions." Microsoft's John Warden had his own share of quotable notables, such as "the notion that Microsoft's actions have hurt consumers is an inversion of the truth [that] turns the world on its head" and "it's not the government who decides who is better or smarter - that is done by consumers." And everybody always enjoys the return of the "there's no monopoly" argument: Warden pointed out over one million people in Sun's developer community. Which is, of course, completely relevant, since the average computer buyer runs right out to Best Buy to pick up a $5000 Sun workstation running Solaris. (Yeah, yeah, Java, we know. Please.)
Anyway, now that the courtroom antics got one last hurrah, here's the schedule. First, Judge Jackson will present his own findings of fact probably late next month. Depending on how those are worded, Microsoft and the government may sit back down to try to hammer out a settlement. (Ha!) Then, later in the year, both sides in the case will deliver "conclusions of law," and then the judge is expected to issue his decision sometime early in 2000. So there's still plenty of fun ahead for fans of the show.
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SceneLink (1795)
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And Now For A Word From Our Sponsors |
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 | | The above scene was taken from the 9/21/99 episode: September 21, 1999: So just why did Apple put so much emphasis on the G4 shortage? It wouldn't have anything to do with stock price manipulation, would it? Meanwhile, "Redmond Justice" heads back on the air with a clip show, and the Taiwan quake means a lot more than iBook delays...
Other scenes from that episode: 1794: Mountains, Molehills, Etc. (9/21/99) Apple announced an earnings warning due to a lack of G4 processors to use in its new professional desktop Macs, and suddenly the stars went out, the heavens fell, and the world imploded. Well, okay, maybe it wasn't that bad, but Apple's stock dropped ten points in a single day-- and while that still places its value at a level higher than it was just a few short weeks ago, a ten-point drop is never something to scoff at... 1796: The Best-Laid Plans (9/21/99) Technology's cool and all, but every once in a while Mother Nature steps in to remind us who rules the roost. The massive earthquake that hit Taiwan carries a heavy human toll: over 1700 confirmed dead so far, more than 4000 injured, over 100,000 homeless, and several thousand people still believed trapped in the rubble...
Or view the entire episode as originally broadcast... | |  |
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