Word: microsoft
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Although it still claims its innocence on antitrust charges, the software giant Microsoft on May 10 presented Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson with an alternative remedy to counter the government's proposed breakup. Unsurprisingly, the company's solution placed unacceptably weak restrictions on Microsoft's future conduct and left open a number of loopholes that are likely to be closed by the government's plan. A remedy as narrow as Microsoft's will not do enough to dissuade the company from continuing its abuse of monopoly power--a stronger resolution to the case must be employed...
...least we can rest assured that no one will ever accuse any party in this trial of behaving impulsively. The battle of wills between Microsoft and the government dragged on Thursday as Justice Department officials and state attorneys general dismissed the software giant's latest peace offering as an "inadequate" response to the government's proposed breakup of the company. And while Washington's notably lackluster reaction might have dampened the spirit of almost any other corporate chairman, Bill Gates seems unfazed...
...course, the egos of self-made billionaires tend to be on a scale with their bank accounts, and the risk of ruffling a few feathers at the DOJ may not be sufficiently threatening to give Gates pause. But in light of recent developments, perhaps it should be: Microsoft's legal struggle with government lawyers has metamorphosed into something of a public relations contest, evidenced most recently by the appearance of Microsoft's counteroffer in Sunday's Washington Post, apparently "leaked" to the press days before it was meant to be released. The plan, couched in the company's most conciliatory...
...calculated risk in and of itself - one that government spin doctors may feel is worth the gamble, given their sense that Jackson is going to come down on their side. But they're not trading on an inexhaustible supply of goodwill: Public perception of the prosecution of the Microsoft case is not altogether favorable. Many feel it's been a colossal and futile drain on government resources and taxpayer money. And at this point, it's anyone's guess how the suit will finally end; the government is required to respond to Microsoft's counteroffer by May 17, and Judge...
Consumers, meanwhile, might be the only real winners in this case: Depending on the sentencing schedule, Microsoft officials may spend the next few months bending over backward for their customers and various contractors, trying to prove their good intentions. And Wall Street investors are circling Microsoft stock like so many vultures, waiting for a strategic dip that may never materialize...