[Am-info] Re: States remaining

[sturde@az.com]

In <20011107170101.C9A0929BA4@lists.essential.org>, on 11/07/01 
   at 12:01 PM, am-info-request@venice.essential.org said:

>9 states OK pact with Microsoft

Of the 9 states remaining, Utah, Mass and California are the ones I know
of with companies that MS has boned.  Come to think of it, so does
Minnesota.  Sun, Oracle and I believe Netscape are in CA. Lotus was in
Mass and Utah has several, whose names escape me.  I am not sure about
Florida.  When Scott McNealy of Sun called the deal a "fix", Robert Bork
reprsenting Netscape called the deal a catastrophe and I doubt Larry
Ellison of Oracle had kind things to say about it. They would influence
CA's position. The problem is that good people risked a lot of MS bullying
and revenge to have it declared a predatory monoply and to give that
finding up:  Hilter and Czechaslovakia (?).  It would be like promising
protection to a mobster for testifying and then welshing on the deal.  And
California is the 600 lb gorilla here.  Its state's economy is about the
10th largest of any political entity in the world.  Its economy is
probably larger than that of Russia today.  It is also interesting how
Mass and CA which were quite before are now stepping up and taking
leadership.  And frankly anyone of the 9 states could continue by itself. 
It seems to me they should pursue the case as the court of appeals
dictated, including the unresolved bundling or tying issues that the court
of appeals wanted more evidence on and which Bork and Starr said there was
no business justification for other than to bone the competition.

James Sturdevant

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sturde@az.com

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