Microsoft Faces Additional Antitrust Lawsuit

["Eric M. Bennett" <ericb@pobox.com>]

Microsoft Faces Additional Antitrust Lawsuit
EBNet Newswire

Redmond, WA.  Jan 1, 1999.  The new year opened on a sour note for
Microsoft (NYSE:MSFT), as the world's largest software maker now faces an
additional court challenge.  Microsoft acknowledged this morning that it
has been sued by Microsoft Corporation (NYSE:MSFT), the world's largest
software maker.

"Microsoft is suing us for anticompetitive business practices and
violations of United States antitrust laws", said Microsoft spokesman Mark
Murray.  "The allegations are completely without merit, and we feel
confident that we will prevail against these charges in court.  The
plaintiff is simply another disgruntled competitor who, having failed to
win in the free market, is hoping to capitalize on our perceived antitrust
and other legal difficulties.  We compete fairly and vigorously."

But Microsoft spokesman Jim Cullinan disagreed: "By use of its Windows 3.1
and Windows 95/98 monopoly power, Microsoft has over the years illegally
muscled major computer manufacturers into shipping Windows 3.1 and 95/98
with every computer they sell. This has been to the detriment of our
Windows NT operating system, which industry experts agree is technically
superior to the Windows 3.1, 95, and 98 products offered by Microsoft.  In
the absence of this illegal activity, we believe our Windows NT product
would have captured a much larger segment of the market for desktop PC
operating systems.  We are suing for injunctive relief as well as damages.
The allegations are based on fact, and we feel confident that we will
prevail on the merits in court.  Besides, it is our policy to copy
anything that's hot in the computer industry, even if it's something we
don't understand.  And right now it's hot to sue Microsoft."

Industry analysts were divided over which company would win the suit, but
all agreed with the sentiments of Gardener Group's Lem Ing, who observed,
"This is just one more example of Microsoft's PR machine getting so big
that its spokespeople can't avoid stepping on each others toes and issuing
conflicting statements."

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--
Eric Bennett ( http://www.pobox.com/~ericb/ )
Cornell University, Field of Biochemistry, 377 Olin Chemistry Lab

We have increased our prices over the last 10 years [while]
other component prices have come down and continue to come down.
-Joachim Kempin, Senior Vice President, Microsoft Corp.