Word: microsoft
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...long-running tech soap opera that is United States v. Microsoft had slogged along for much of the summer without a major twist, so it was fine timing when the Justice Department jumped in last week and moved the plot along. The newest twist: the government announced it is abandoning its long-held goal of breaking Microsoft up into smaller companies...
...declarations not to do something go, this was a significant one. Justice took off the table the one possible remedy that Microsoft has most bitterly opposed. Just as important, it provided some tantalizing clues to the key question that has hovered over the case all year: What will the Bush Administration do with this high-profile case left over from the Clinton...
...answer was a clear one, for the shift in strategy was actually a twofer for Microsoft. At the same time as its no-breakup announcement, the department said it would similarly not pursue the suit's "tying" claim, that Microsoft had illegally leveraged its monopoly by bundling its Internet browser in Windows. The two moves could be read as confirmation that the Bush Justice Department won't be as aggressive on antitrust matters as its Democratic predecessors...
Adding weight to that theory: the curious timing. The putative explanation for the government's thinking is that, with the case due for an in-court status hearing this week, Justice wanted to give Microsoft an idea of what would be on and off the table. But after that hearing, the case is headed into settlement talks, and it's Negotiation 101 to hold onto all your bargaining chips until you get to the table. Why abandon, in exchange for nothing at all, the one scenario Microsoft fears the most...
...drive it to some place. All they had to do was hijack an airplane." They made it look so easy, you wondered if the only reason the U.S. has not seen a hijacking in 20 years was because hardly anyone was trying. It's a wonder why not; the Microsoft flight simulator and Fly! II--the two most popular simulators for personal computers--allow you to pretend to fly between the World Trade Center towers, and into them. Anyone looking to practice can buy the software off the shelf...