Item Subject: cc:Mail Text
News.Com reports

        "The Justice Department charged today that Microsoft (MSFT)
         has violated terms of a 1995 consent decree governing its
         licensing practices.

        "In asking a federal court to hold Microsoft in contempt
         of the decree, the department is seeking a fine of
         $1 million a day from the software giant."

Even if that holds, Microsoft can hold out for, let's see... well, as long
as it wants.

        "To make the charges stick, Justice must prove that the
         operating system and the browser are two separate products."

Wasn't it Scott McNealy, CEO of Sun, who coined the statement,
"The network *is* the computer"? It would be almost funny, given the
current tensions between Sun and Microsoft, for Mr. McNealy to be called
as a witness on Microsoft's behalf.

Details are at
        <http://www.news.com/News/Item/0,4,15418,00.html>

DOJ press release:
        <http://www.news.com/SpecialFeatures/0,5,15420,00.html>

Microsoft response:
        <http://www.microsoft.com/corpinfo/press/1997/Oct97/doj.htm>

--Glenn Cole
  Software al dente, Inc.
  [log in to unmask]