Microsoft partisans are jumping in joy at the news that the company won't be broken up, but while this is certainly good news, the software giant still has some problems ahead of it. The DOJ and states allied against the company are reportedly looking into a number of conduct-related remedies that would still prove tough to swallow, including the possibility that the Windows source code would be opened up to competitors. Another option involves a retraction of Microsoft's licenses with PC makers, which would let the companies install any OS they'd like, without having to worry about getting blacklisted by Microsoft. And Microsoft could be forced to loosen up its rules about Windows, allowing PC makers to mix and match software components in the system according to users' wishes, not Redmond's. Whatever the ultimate decision is, it's sure to be interesting. And confining, if you're Microsoft. So drop the party hats and get going on a settlement.
From WinInfo Short Takes: Week of September 10
Microsoft's recently released Internet Explorer 6 has taken 2.4 percent of the browser market, quickly closing in on AOL Time Warner's Netscape 6, according to a new study. IE 6, released Aug. 27, showed a fast adoption rate in the week after its launch. StatMarket would not release the figures for Netscape 6, but it said that the browser was used by less than 2.5 percent of Internet users worldwide in its first week. StatMarket said that although IE 6 had a "strong" start, it expects a low adoption rate compared with its predecessor, IE 5. Launched in 1999, IE 5 gained between 2 percent and 3 percent of the browser market in its first week.
Thanks to NeoWin for brining up this story!
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Microsoft seems to be runaway train, YES!, sweet!
Silicon Valley lawyer Rich Gray says the DOJ's decision not to seek a breakup may be the beginning of the end for its hard-fought case against Microsoft.
C|Net Video. More on this story from Washington Post
Microsoft's MSN.com portal on Thursday inked a deal with Walt Disney's ESPN.com sports page that will allow the companies to promote technology and content through their respective sites. The cross-marketing agreement underscores Microsoft's ongoing attempts to partner with media companies by offering them technology in return for distribution. Microsoft executives have dismissed ideas of creating content and instead touted ways their technology can deliver content online.
A new cable Internet standard slated to be finalized later this year could boost cable modem speeds, clearing the way for a raft of new services. Denver-based CableLabs, the cable industry's research and development arm, announced recently that it will certify a new version of DOCSIS (Data Over Cable Service Interface Specification), the technology protocol cable operators use to deliver high-speed Net access using cable modems.
Microsoft says that its July revenues prediction for the current fiscal year is still on track and that the company's financial performance will be boosted by the release of Windows XP in October. Microsoft CFO John Connors, in Boston this week for a technology conference, reiterated that he expects the company to hit its revenue target of $28.8 billion to $29.6 billion for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2002. The first quarter, ending in October, will be soft, Connors said, but the second quarter will be a different story.
The government on Thursday said that it would not seek to break up Microsoft when a federal judge resumes proceedings in the case. Microsoft, the Justice Department and 18 states are scheduled to meet over the next two weeks with U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly. The Justice Department said in a statement that it would "not seek a break-up of the company into separate operating systems and applications businesses, as previously had been ordered by the court. Instead, the Department will seek an order that is modeled after the interim conduct-related provisions of the Final Judgment previously ordered in the case."
"Consumers are eager to get a copy of Windows XP and don't want to wait until Oct. 25," said John Frederiksen, general manager for Windows marketing at Microsoft Corp. "Consumers can preorder a copy of Windows XP today from one of several retailers or buy a Windows XP Ready PC from a computer manufacturer." Customers can preorder Windows XP online at Amazon.com, Best Buy and Costco.com or through their local software retailers, including CompUSA. Through this program, customers can be assured they will receive their copy of Windows XP around Oct. 25.
Microsoft's Windows XP may give the lagging market for home networking the jump-start it needs. The company's forthcoming Windows operating system will support a technology standard known as Wi-Fi, or 802.11b, a wireless protocol that allows people to connect their computers and laptops so they can share the same Net connection. That way, people can roam through the house and still surf the Web or check e-mail.