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Lagel Dyxlesia (6/30/98)
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Microsoft may have won the first round of "Redmond Justice" last week, when a three-judge panel struck down the preliminary injunction preventing them from forcing PC manufacturers to preload Internet Explorer on every Windows 95 system shipped. However, the judges' decision was based in part on a standard antitrust law treatise, and one of the authors of that treatise says the court made a mistake. There's more in the Boston Globe.
Einer Elhauge, the Harvard Law School professor who co-authored the treatise, wrote an op-ed piece in the New York Times stating his opinion that the Appeals Court "got wrong the interpretation of the legal standard." (We're told that it's pretty rare for lawyers to publicly state a specific judge's interpretation is incorrect, since there's always the chance of having to argue before that judge in the future. We assume that means that Einer feels pretty strongly about this.) Under Einer's definition, Windows 95 and Internet Exporer are sold separately and any shmoe can put them together to get the same thing that Microsoft was forcing PC manufacturers to sell. Thus, Windows and IE are separate products and Microsoft is in violation of its 1995 consent decree for "tying" the sale of the two products together. Einer feels that the Appeals Court misread his analysis and came to the exact opposite conclusion that they should have. (Whoops!)
There's no telling whether or not Einer's publicly-stated opinion could affect the outcome of "Redmond Justice II: The State Bites Back," starring the Justice Department in a returning role and introducing twenty states' attorneys general as the ornery but lovable sidekicks. But once that court date rolls around in September, perhaps the judge will remember this little incident. Stay tuned to find out.
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And Now For A Word From Our Sponsors |
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 | | The above scene was taken from the 6/30/98 episode: June 30, 1998: Apple's unsheathed its lawyers in an attempt to make would-be service cheats think twice before committing fraud. Meanwhile, one of the authors of a key treatise used in the recent Microsoft decision says the judges got it all wrong, and Apple's slipping hold on the education market shows signs of potential strenghening...
Other scenes from that episode: 819: It's Payback Time (6/30/98) Last year, Steve Jobs reportedly sent undercover Apple reps into the field to examine first-hand the sorry state of Macs in the retail space. A few months ago, Apple announced it was pulling its products out of all national retail chains except for CompUSA... 821: Tables May Be Turning (6/30/98) Apple may have lost a little ground in its struggle to maintain its hold on the education market, but it looks like things may be turning around. In two separate and unrelated stories on MacCentral, we see evidence that Apple has a chance to stay on top in higher education. First, Dartmouth has announced which computer it officially recommends to this fall's incoming class of 2003...
Or view the entire episode as originally broadcast... | |  |
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