So we thought we'd check back in on "Redmond Justice," whose progress seems to have ground to a slow trudge over the past several weeks. Seriously, if the action moved any slower it'd be an Andy Warhol movie. To recap, after Judge Jackson issued his phenomenally dramatic findings of fact (whose more than 200 pages could easily be summarized by sewing a scarlet "M" to Bill Gates's forehead), he appointed another judge to act as a mediator while Microsoft and the government try to hammer out a mutually acceptable settlement agreement. Since then, not much has been happening-- especially since those settlement talks are very hush-hush.

Anyway, about all that's progressed since is Microsoft's appeal challenging Jackson's appointment of Lawrence Lessig as a special adviser. You remember that whole flap, right? Jackson brought Lessig on as a "friend of the court" due to his knowledge of the computer industry, since Jackson's own knowledge in that area was admittedly pretty thin. Microsoft objected, claiming that Lessig was biased. As proof, they noted his involvement with open-source software projects and how he had (gasp!) traded email with a Netscape employee. Jackson kept Lessig on, and Microsoft filed an appeal. Well, according to a PC Week Online article, that appeal has just been swatted down by Jackson, and thus Lessig remains.

What is that significant? Well, to us it reveals that Jackson shows no signs of wavering, and that if Microsoft doesn't settle, there are going to be a lot of unhappy suits in Redmond once the verdict is issued. More importantly, now that Microsoft has finally gotten Windows 2000 out the door (it's scheduled to ship to customers next month), there's a very real deadline in this case. If no settlement is reached by then, it's apparently quite possible that the government will seek a ban on shipping Windows 2000 until the case is over. If that happens, we foresee a lot of angry NT folks who have been waiting for Window 2000 for several years, now. Hey, c'mon, guys-- what's a few more months? If the case drags out long enough, maybe it'll be Windows 2001 instead.