Full Speed Ahead!
pbs.org | at | by Mike
The parties will be still fighting a year from now trying to resolve this thing and all the while Microsoft will be remaking itself, under the guidance of Gates, into a completely new kind of bully. And that's what the rest of this column is all about -- predicting what Gates will do and where he will aim the New Microsoft.
The basic fact underlying my analysis is that Gates views the past as done with and gives it almost no thought. That's what he has lawyers for. And on some level, Gates has to believe that Microsoft's old businesses -- the very businesses he is in trouble for running so well -- will go away over time. So his competitors are right now fighting like jackals over parts of Microsoft that Gates probably no longer even values. That has to bring him some ironic satisfaction.
The New Microsoft has to be successful even if the Old Microsoft is completely dismembered. This is the prime directive for Gates, and has been from the start. It is not so important to protect what Microsoft was or is, but to protect what Microsoft will be. This is why he is so willing to behave in ways that would appear to jeopardize the settlement, because he feels Microsoft's success is assured no matter what any judge decides. Knowing this ought to embolden the other side, but it won't. They simply aren't smart enough to get it.