Word: teche
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...remedy as far-reaching as the total dismemberment of the Gates empire. And more potential bad news: these findings of fact could be used by a host of competitors to bring their own civil antitrust actions against Microsoft. The reverberations will be felt for some time throughout the high-tech world--and by the tens of millions of Americans who have a stake in this battle because they own Microsoft stock. (For what this means to investors, see Dan Kadlec's Personal Time column...
...return to the good old days of trust busting, something scarcely seen in the U.S. since the government's case against IBM sputtered out in the early 1980s. Emboldened by Judge Jackson's ruling, the Antitrust Division could soon be prowling for more high-profile, high-tech targets...
...high-tech needs smart antitrust enforcement, that raises an even trickier question: Is the American legal system up to it? The wheels of justice have always ground slowly--and even today the courts have more in common with Dickens' Bleak House than with the World Wide Web. By the lightning-paced standards of the computer industry, the law is positively glacial. After Jackson is done with the case, the appeals could drag on for two more years. That's a lifetime in Silicon Valley...
...courts function on Internet time? The problem is particularly stark when it comes to crafting an effective remedy. Like every successful high-tech company, Microsoft is in constant flux. In the past year it has moved quickly to adapt to changing circumstances. In May it paid $5 billion for a chunk of AT&T--thereby guaranteeing that Windows CE-powered set-top boxes will have an inside track on AT&T cable systems. It also invested $600 million in Nextel Communications and bought a 30% stake in a British cable company. Even if Jackson gets a chance to issue...
Certainly, Gates is more vulnerable now. But betting against him is the longest running mistake in the tech world. Microsoft has the resources and the moxie to survive and thrive. Start with an astounding balance sheet with $19 billion in cash. Interest alone will add $1.6 billion of earnings in the fiscal year ending in June, analysts estimate. That by itself is more than the annual profit of nine of 10 FORTUNE 500 companies. Gates exploits his money machine. He has large stakes in cable, Internet and telecom properties, pretty much assuring himself a big piece of the tech future...