Lest we be accused of being unbalanced (no cracks!), it's only fair to note that Microsoft's not the only tech giant facing governmental antitrust woes. It seems our very own Apple is attracting its share of unwelcome trade-regulating interest-- in Japan. We all know that here in the U.S., Apple manages to keep the retail prices of its products relatively stable by offering resellers "co-op funds" if they agree not to sell Apple gear below Apple's "minimum advertised price." Technically it's not price-fixing, apparently, since resellers are perfectly free to sell Macs at lower prices; they just won't get that "special cash gift" as a bonus. Clever, right? As Jamie Lee Curtis said in A Fish Called Wanda, "Everyone does it in America."

But longtime viewers will recall that the Japanese government looked somewhat askance at Apple Japan's similar attempts to keep Mac prices at, er, "healthy" levels in the Land of the Rising Sun. In a scene right out of our giddiest drama fantasies, officers of the Japanese Fair Trade Commission actually raided the offices of Apple Japan and its "affiliated wholesalers" last December, hoping to find evidence of blatant wrongdoing. Unfortunately, the only suspicious material they found was a bunch of "Survivor" memorabilia, the possession of which is not a crime-- though it probably should be.

That raid apparently marked the beginning of a ten-month investigation into whether or not Apple Japan violated Japanese antitrust laws. According to The Register, the FTC has stated that the "enquiry was now complete, and that it believed the Mac maker had indeed applied pressure to retailers to ensure they didn't undercut Apple's list prices." D'oh!! It's a fair cop. So what's the penalty? A hefty fine? Jail time for Apple Japan's director of sales? Some particularly harsh form of governmentally-enforced hara-kiri?

Try "D," none of the above. The FTC has declared that "no penalty would be imposed on Apple," so apparently the company is getting off with a warning... this time. We have to assume that the FTC's ten-month investigation turned up no more evidence than its initial office raid-- in other words, not enough to make a case stick. So either Apple Japan's doing a commendable job of walking that fine line between "outright criminal" and "just sort of sleazy," or it's just really good at destroying the evidence. Either way, two thumbs up! And perhaps one day Apple will be big enough to be investigated by the government right here in the good ol' U.S. of A.