Triumph of the Bill: Why Microsoft won
ZDNet | at | by Mike
It's too early to say it's over, but it's over, and the Microsoft-bashers lost. With the Justice Department happy, Microsoft is now in a position to spend whatever's necessary to make the nine non-settling states and the private antitrust suits simply go away. After that, it really will be over. Judge Kollar-Kotelly's ruling last week stopped just short of saying to the non-settling states and their corporate partners, "Are you people nuts?" I don't think she ever seriously considered trying to "fix" the marketplace.
Fact is, there was no political will to do anything about Microsoft. Why? Because, for all the anger in some quarters (especially among some of you TalkBack posters), most consumers don't feel like they've been screwed by Microsoft. They may not feel loved or well cared for, but they don't feel like they've been terribly mistreated, either. And those few who do feel screwed by Microsoft never yelled loudly enough to catch Washington's attention.