And speaking of Microsoft's wild success, if you're rubbing your hands together and cackling with glee over Judge Jackson's probable upcoming ruling against them, you might want to read this Computer Reseller News article just to put the whole "Redmond Justice" thing in perspective. Financial analysts expect that the ongoing legal battle's effect on Microsoft's earnings this quarter will be negligible. (Picture, say, a mosquito dive-bombing a rhino to get the general idea.)

Analysts expect Microsoft to post a record-breaking 35% increase in net income. Basically, since their operating costs are so high already, the additional legal costs of the Department of Justice battle only constitute a tiny percentage increase. In fact, even if Microsoft is found in contempt for violating the preliminary injunction, we'd guess that the million-dollar-a-day fine still probably wouldn't have all that large an effect on Microsoft's financial picture in the short term. (One analyst notes that legal costs may be an issue in the future, if Japan and Europe also initiate antitrust cases against the Redmond Behemoth.)

So what's the point of the whole thing, you ask? Well, the long-term effects of the litigation against Microsoft could be substantial. If Microsoft starts to lose antitrust suits all around the globe, it'll have to modify its business practices to comply with antitrust laws. It's also entirely possible that customers and/or Wall Street will start to look at Microsoft with a less favorable eye. However, people looking for immediate results are going to be sorely disappointed; even though the technology world moves quickly, the business world moves a bit slower-- especially when companies this big are involved. (Just look how long Apple's been floundering; many still contend that its death is inevitable, but will still take a couple of years.) It's all a matter of waiting to see...