And in Off-Topic Theater to kick off the weekend, can we just say that we placed our faith in entirely the wrong judge to provide us with the highest quality standard in Redmondcentric antitrust entertainment? We always figured that Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly would have had us rolling in the aisles, what with wielding immense power over the fate of Microsoft and also having an inherently funny name. And sure, we did get a few giggles out of the esteemed judge' s excessively K-sound-laden moniker, but man did she fall flat on that whole "Redmond Justice" thing. Letting the company pretty much walk? Seriously, how is that funny? The woman clearly needs some better material.

Now, Judge Motz on the other hand, this guy is on. He's currently presiding in one of the larger lesser-known "Redmond Justice" spinoffs starring Microsoft and longtime rival Sun. And get this: not only is "J. Frederick Motz" nearly as funny a name as "Colleen Kollar-Kotelly" (say it soft and it's almost like praying), but he also knows how to milk a case to keep an audience hooked. The man can work a crowd, we tell you; just check out this Reuters article, which reports that Judge Motz flat-out compared Microsoft's attempts to cripple Java in Windows to-- get this-- "the 1994 knee-clubbing of Olympic skater Nancy Kerrigan." He shoots, he SCOOOOORES!!

For those of you who find Motz's name a shade familiar, you should; he's the judge who tossed out Microsoft's "generous offer" to settle a hundred or so private antitrust suits by donating PCs and free copies of Windows to the nation's poorest schools. (Because, as we all know, nothing relieves monopoly abuses like entrenching said monopoly still further.) You do understand what this means, don't you? It means that in J. Frederick Motz we've found a judge with intelligence, a funny name, and a willingness to make tasteless pop culture references in court. Oh, sure, he's no Judge Jackson, and indeed Motz isn't expected to grant Sun a preliminary injunction in the Case of the Poisoned Java, but he is leaning toward forcing Microsoft to include a pristine version of Java in every copy of Windows, so there's that. So whaddaya think? J. Frederick Motz, Patron Judiciary of AtAT?