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A Call To Arms (5/16/98)
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Ladies and gentlemen, we are officially at DEFCON 1. The Department of Justice announced today that peace talks with Microsoft had broken down, and are not expected to resume. Microsoft will be shipping Windows 98 to manufacturers on Monday, as the DoJ scrambles to file an antitrust lawsuit intended to halt it. Read all about it in Computer Reseller News.
Apparently it was Microsoft who walked away from the table, once the DoJ made the hardline demand that Internet Explorer be stripped out of Windows 98. Oooooo! Instant negotiations breakdown. To make matters worse, Justice reportedly demanded that Microsoft ship Netscape Navigator with Windows 98-- a request that Microsoft likens to "asking Coke to include two cans of Pepsi in every sixpack." Microsoft continues to insist that Internet Explorer is an integral part of the Windows operating system, and removing it is well-nigh impossble-- not to mention, infringing on their right to "innovate."
Neither Justice nor the 20 or so states interested in suing Microsoft have confirmed that they plan to file suit on Monday, but those demands seem to reveal a DoJ itching for a fight. That's a dramatically different DoJ than we've been seeing throughout the "Redmond Justice" ordeal. It's a DoJ with something to prove-- one that perhaps realizes just how soft they've been playing things with Microsoft, who's just been laughing at them the whole time. (Take, for instance, the unbootable Windows 95 "compliance" with Judge Jackson's preliminary injunction.) From AtAT's perspective, while we realize that the effects of several long and drawn-out lawsuits could dramatically affect the entire computer industry, you'll forgive us for taking a certain selfish glee in realizing that we'll likely have plenty of plot material for months and months to come. Who needs writers when you've got Microsoft?
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And Now For A Word From Our Sponsors |
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 | | The above scene was taken from the 5/16/98 episode: May 16, 1998: The truce between Microsoft and the U.S. government ends abruptly, as an unmoveable company encounters an impossible demand. Meanwhile, despite all the debate, interest in the iMac is huge, if early rumors about pre-orders can be trusted; and the fabled Columbus/AMP set-top box is officially dead before it got off the ground...
Other scenes from that episode: 710: Of Things to Come (5/16/98) With all the controversy surrounding the iMac, with all the concerns that it might just be "too different," we at AtAT have been anxiously counting down the ninety days until the system is actually shipping, so we can see if those concerns are valid or not... 711: S.O.S.! AMP RIP? Y-E-S. (5/16/98) Of course, while the iMac prepares to revolutionize the home computer market, what of the Apple Media Player/Columbus? It appears that the set-top box version of this mysterious Apple project is now officially dead, despite Apple Recon's long-fought battle to prevent it from being "Steved."...
Or view the entire episode as originally broadcast... | |  |
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