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Gotta Love The Classics (12/7/99)
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Now, for antitrust sleaze done right, the real addicts know they need look no further than "Redmond Justice." For years, now, Microsoft has provided the very best in antitrust entertainment, with the company's own special gourmet blend of shocking anticompetitive behavior, singular incompetence in covering it up, and truly awe-inspiring guts in ever attempting such baldfaced violations in the first place. Heck, we rank Microsoft's monopolistic practices even higher than the legendary deeds of the DeBeers diamond cartel in terms of sheer breadth, scope, and chutzpah.
And that's what keeps us tuning in, even though the government's lawsuit against Bill Gates and his team has slowed down considerably ever since the dizzying roller coaster ride of witness testimony. Ever since the last witness left the stand, the show's been more about lawyers arguing on paper than tech bigwigs duking it out in the courtroom. Still, there have been high points, like when Judge Jackson issued his landmark "findings of fact" which made it clear that Microsoft was in hot water coming to a slow boil. It's the possibility of drama like that which had us excited about the government's "proposed conclusions of law" brief, filed yesterday.
Sadly, there wasn't a whole lot in the government's brief to shock or surprise us. While it was nice to read the summary of the government's points in the San Jose Mercury News, we all pretty much already knew what the arguments would be: that Microsoft violated the Sherman Antitrust Act by trying to kill off potential competitors like Netscape and Sun in just about every way possible. No, what we're really waiting for is Microsoft's legal conclusions, which will somehow attempt to argue that all the nasty things they've been shown to have done are perfectly legal and fair game. That oughta be good for a few hoots and hollers. Microsoft's deadline is January 17th, so circle your calendars and pray there isn't a settlement before then. After all, we sure wouldn't want to miss this.
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SceneLink (1958)
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And Now For A Word From Our Sponsors |
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 | | The above scene was taken from the 12/7/99 episode: December 7, 1999: Apple's antitrust troubles in Japan aren't shaping up to be nearly as dramatic and interesting as they could be. Meanwhile, the U.S. government's proposed legal conclusions in the "Redmond Justice" case are solid but predictable, and rumors of the ever-lovin' Apple-Palm handheld surface again, hinting at an unveiling at next month's Expo...
Other scenes from that episode: 1957: All Smiles And Roses (12/7/99) Alas, those of us with a heavy-duty thirst for sleazy antitrust drama may be sorely disappointed as the "Cupertino Justice" story unfolds. Rather than living up to its soap-operatic potential, the epic saga of Apple's alleged price fixing activities and the resulting clash with the Japanese government is getting off to a decidedly undramatic start... 1959: This Time, For Sure (12/7/99) Wake the kids and phone the neighbors, 'cause we've got another Repeat Rumor sighting! Those of you playing the Repeat Rumors Drinking Game, take a gulp-- O'Grady's PowerPage says that an Apple-branded PDA may surface at next month's Macworld Expo...
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