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Microsoft: Charge THIS (2/5/98)
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Lessee, there's the Sun/Java lawsuit, the antitrust investigation from eleven states, the inquiry by the European Competition Commissioner, the threat of possible antitrust action by the government of Japan, a slew of smaller legal skirmishes, and of course the big brouhaha with the Department of Justice. Just how many lawyers do you suppose Microsoft has, anyway? Possibly not enough, because according to thessaSOURCE, the DoJ's preparing a few more lawsuits to toss on the grill.
They cite a Reuters article and state that the Justice Department is considering filing new charges against the software company for various and sundry alleged anti-competitive practices, such as announcing products so far in advance they don't yet exist and serve only to dissuade people from buying the competition's product. Also considered for litigation are Microsoft's de facto control over "proprietary compatibility standards" by virtue of its OS monopoly, its practice of keeping certain APIs hidden from third-party developers so Microsoft's applications always work better with the Microsoft OSes, and the way it has linked its OSes to Microsoft-owned products and services, e.g. Internet Explorer, MSN, etc. Whew! How many lawyers does the Justice Department have?
All of this, of course, virtually guarantees that "Redmond Justice" will be on the air for years to come. We never thought we'd be thankful for long, drawn-out litigation, but these are strange times, indeed.
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SceneLink (424)
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And Now For A Word From Our Sponsors |
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 | | The above scene was taken from the 2/5/98 episode: February 5, 1998: The other half of the Apple legend looks sadly back upon what might have been, and considers where his old partner will take the company. Meanwhile, the Department of Justice sharpens its knives in preparation for a full-scale attack on the Redmond Giant, and Netscape is seen holding a sign that reads "Will Sell Out For Food..."
Other scenes from that episode: 423: The OTHER Steve Speaks (2/5/98) The modern legend of "two guys in a garage" is part of the Apple mystique, but while Steve Jobs has returned very forcefully to the Apple spotlight, the "other guy" isn't quite so visibly involved in the Apple soap opera any more... 425: The Vultures Multiply (2/5/98) Yesterday, it was Sun who was ready to pounce on Netscape's weakening form and swallow it whole. Today, the circle of potential predators has grown-- and rumor has it that Netscape itself is eager to sell...
Or view the entire episode as originally broadcast... | |  |
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