Machiavelli meets Microsoft
C|Net | at | by Mike
When it came to her final word on Microsoft, U.S. District Court Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly turned to "The Prince," Niccolo Machiavelli's famous Renaissance treatise on power politics, for direction. Quoting the Florentine philosopher as she issued her landmark antitrust ruling, Kollar-Kotelly gave Microsoft most of what it wanted. Yet at the same time, she didn't rely on the software maker's good intentions to make sure the decision will stick.
But if her 300-plus page decision suggested Microsoft was about as trustworthy as a member of the Borgia family, Kollar-Kotelly nevertheless concluded that the stiffer remedy demanded by nine states opposing a settlement between Microsoft and the Department of Justice last November didn't fit the offense.