[Am-info] AOL/RH merger (denied) now makes some sense

[Paul Rickard]

=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D On 2002.01.29 07:44 AM, John Poltorak typed:=
 =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D

>> IIRC, the settlement was for $130 million.
>
>Is there a URL for this anywhere?
>
>It doesn't sound much at all bearing in mind what Microsoft did to DR-DOS.=
 
>They basically sabotaged their software and took their market away. It was=
 
>the most callous and cowardly act that Microsoft have ever committed and 
>amounted cyber-vandalism IMV.
>
>I don't think the general public ever got much of an inkling into what 
>actually happened when they put code into Windows to prevent its operation=
 
>with a rival's software.

   MSBC NewsSource, January 17 2000:

      *After the stock market closed last Monday an unexpected statement 
was issued by Microsoft declaring that one of the private antitrust case 
against it had been officially settled. That case, filed against 
Microsoft by Caldera several years ago, charged the company of using the 
popularity of Windows to destroy DR-DOS, a Novell product later acquired 
by Caldera. According to sources the meeting was Microsoft's idea and the 
negotiation only took a few hours - meaning that The Behemoth essentially 
caved in to Caldera's demands.
      The nearly detail-free press release gave no details of the 
settlement, only specifying that it will cut an estimated three cents per 
share from Microsoft's earnings in the next quarter. While three cents 
per share would be a little over $150 million, don't believe that Caldera 
settled for that amount when its case was worth an estimated $2 billion. 
Remember that Microsoft has over $10 billion in cash just lying around, 
and also has accountants capable of nearly anything since they aren't 
burdened by morality. The settlement costs will probably be spread across 
earnings for the next two or three years, a creative way of applying the 
infamous 'cookie jar' accounting method.
      What did Microsoft get for its money? Beyond escaping a potential 
$2-billion-plus punishment handed down by a jury from Caldera's home 
state, they also bought their opponent's silence, since Caldera agreed to 
sign a non-disclosure agreement as part of the settlement. That would be 
Microsoft's main reason for settling, since Caldera reportedly gathered 
up a mountain of damaging evidence that would make the government 
antitrust trial look like a party in comparison. And all of that evidence 
could have been used in additional cases filed by damaged competitors 
like AOL-owned Netscape, or in class-action suits filed by groups of 
consumers and money-hungry trial lawyers. Caldera v. Microsoft Corp was 
scheduled to begin on February 1, three weeks and one day after the 
settlement was announced. -|

    (=A92000 The Microsoft Boycott Campaign / Open Content Licensed)


=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D Paul Rickard, Editor of The Microsoft Boycott Camp=
aign =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D
--------------------------------[ Http://www.msboycott.com ]-----------

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