A clear victory for Microsoft
SeattlePI | at | by Mike
A federal judge yesterday approved a settlement that assures that Microsoft Corp. -- a declared monopolist in the PC operating-system market -- will indeed be regulated, but with a gentle touch. It was a clear victory for the Redmond company in its 4-year-old antitrust suit. U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly approved the deal reached by Microsoft, the Justice Department and nine states, and delivered a stinging rejection to nine other states that had sought harsher penalties against the world's largest software maker.
The decision, which took 19 weeks to formulate and more than 500 pages to explain, drew outrage from competitors and their trade associations. Critics called the ruling a rubber stamp and predicted an appeal.