MSBC NewsSource is currently being produced in a shorter format to give our writers and editors a well-deserved break. To make up for fewer reports, we are including an above-average number of links to reports on other sites that will make up the difference. Standard NewsSource production will resume on January 10, 2000.

COURT NOTES: In their only meeting since the first antitrust trial ruling was handed down [see NewsSource, Nov. 08], attorneys representing Microsoft and the Department of Justice gathered before Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson to schedule the next phase of the antitrust trial. In the quickest court session held in two years (25 minutes), Jackson set the due dates for each party's filings concerning the next segment of the trial and placed a size limit on each set of briefs. He also agreed to hear oral arguments concerning the filings sometime before handing down the next ruling, which we expect to see in late February or March.
The next day Judge Jackson announced an unusual decision related to the case, naming a sitting judge to be the special moderator over ongoing settlement negotiations between Microsoft and the government. Judge Richard Posner will take a break from his duties as a Chicago Appeals Court judge to oversee messy settlement discussions that have repeatedly stalled since the lawsuit was first filed back in October 1997. According to reports, Posner is an open-minded social conservative who believes in antitrust laws (shades of Robert Bork) but would be against splitting Microsoft apart as a punishment. Posner's appointment gave both sides new hope for settlement, pushing Microsoft's stock ahead nearly four points to 89.69.

On November 14, Bill Gates launched Fall Comdex 1999 in Las Vegas' Venetian Hotel and Casino with a keynote speech filled with reheated ideas and tacky jokes. He began by defending Microsoft's position in the antitrust trial, making several lame attempts at legal humor. Gates then moved on to plug abstract ideas, future products like Office Online and vaporware projects related to 'server-centric' computing. Several of the network computer ideas presented by Gates are so similar to competing products they left several unimpressed audience members wondering if Microsoft's CEO had stolen his notes from Sun Microsystems' Scott McNealy.
Later into the presentation, Gates gave specifics on the MSN Web Companion announced back in September by Steve Ballmer [see NewsSource, Sep. 27]. It appears to be, by what Gates showed, a stripped down Windows CE handheld designed only for browsing the Internet. As with WebTV, the device will be manufactured by third party electronics companies like Acer, Philips and Thomson.

While Gates and most of Microsoft's high profile executives were at Comdex, US Vice President Al Gore spoke to an unfortunate group of Microsoft employees stuck back in Redmond. In his speech Gore tried to avoid discussing the antitrust trial, but finally spoke about it when Microsoft employees in the audience continued pressing for answers. The VP finally said the nation's antitrust laws are necessary and "sound," but made sure everyone present understood that neither he or the President had anything to do with the decision to prosecute. He later added that the White House may be involved in discussions about a settlement or possible remedies - if Microsoft is found guilty.
The vice president's trip to Microsoft's headquarters was delayed several months to reduce the appearance of trial tampering, and was nearly canceled the previous week because of a disagreement over media access to his speech. Apparently Microsoft has an internal policy of not allowing the press to attend speeches by political figures, but that policy was quickly reversed after Gore threatened to cancel his trip because of it. Other recent political visitors like current Texas governor and Republican presidential hopeful George W. Bush gave their speeches behind closed doors.

After months of fighting over the issue, last week Microsoft announced the latest version of MSN Messenger will not communicate with AOL Instant Messenger. When Microsoft first released its messaging program in July, America Online protested because it was a blatant attempt to bring AOL customers to MSN [see NewsSource, July 26]. Microsoft says the decision to drop the compatibility from its client stems from security problems with AOL's software.
On November 17 Microsoft sent Windows 2000 Release Candidate 3 to its beta testers. According to most sources RC3 will be the final beta of Win2K, with the product going to manufacturing in the middle of December. Earlier this Month Microsoft finally set February 17 2000 as the official Windows 2000 release date.
According to a report from PC Data Online, market share for Microsoft's Windows Media Player is growing seven times faster than that of RealNetworks' competing RealPlayer and RealJukebox products. The study reportedly shows WMP usage growing by 34 percent in September and October while the Real products only grew by 5 percent - but Real still dominates Microsoft's player nearly 2 to 3. In the same time period, usage of Apple's superior QuickTime product dipped nearly 8 percent.

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