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. Due to the holiday season, our next update will be for the week of January 10, 2000, at which time standard production will resume.

On December 15, after literally years of delays, Microsoft released Windows 2000 Build 2195 to manufacturers - ending the development of that operating system. PC assemblers and CD-ROM manufacturers are now expected to take roughly six weeks to do their jobs, putting the official release of 2000 right on the February 17 target announced two months ago. When Windows 2000 does finally go on sale, three versions will be available - Professional, Server, Advanced Server - with the Datacenter version promised for release sometime in late spring. The Behemoth has spent at least four years and a billion dollars developing this Next Big Thing, but the effort may be too little too late - the operating system's repeated delays combined with the rise of Linux and threats of Y2K trouble are expected to have significant impact on sales of the NT replacement.

COURT NOTES: As requested by Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson, the US Justice Department and attorneys general from 19 states filed papers earlier this month summarizing their positions on specific antitrust laws Microsoft's behavior violated. Last month Jackson handed down a ruling on the facts of the case [see NewsSource, Nov. 08], and he is expected to give his judgment about what laws Microsoft violated with that behavior once Microsoft's attorneys file their own position on the law. Microsoft has until January 17 of next year to hand over the documents, and with their repeated attempts to delay the trial we feel sure the defendants will wait until the last minute to comply.
In its proposed finding of law papers, the Department of Justice accused Microsoft of violating two sections of the Sherman Antitrust Act in four ways: illegally maintaining its monopoly in PC operating systems; tying Internet Explorer to Windows "to monopolize the browser market;" entering into unlawful exclusionary agreements with PC assemblers, ISPs and content providers; and impairing competitors' access to consumers. A separate 42-page filing from the 19 states involved in the antitrust case lists individual state laws violated by Microsoft's actions. Their charges for the most part duplicate those of the DoJ, with the addition of a charge about Microsoft's unbending control over the PC boot sequence.

On December 8, Microsoft and mobile phone giant Ericcson announced the creation of a joint venture company to develop high speed Internet access for handheld devices. As part of the deal, Ericcson agreed to adopt Microsoft's Mobile Explorer for its line of Web-enabled mobile phones, while Microsoft will make its handheld products compatible with Ericcson's Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) standards.
A European court has given Microsoft bad news for next year, handing down a ruling that could open the company up to antitrust cases in more countries around the world. The court decided the European Commission was wrong to ignore a complaint about Microsoft filed by France's Micro Leader. The ruling could prompt the European Commission to open an investigation based on the complaint, and additionally allows private businesses to file their own antitrust suits.
Again showing that Microsoft takes Linux more seriously than it will publicly admit, the company job board last week listed four Linux-related positions Microsoft wants to fill. The job duties include the formation of a Linux strategy for Microsoft, speaking to the media about Linux, and, of course, spinning all Linux news to keep Microsoft from looking bad.

Win2k-based consumer OS rides again as Millennium fades
Xpedior, Expedia in trademark dispute
NT scales security heights -- but what about 2k?
Microsoft sinks $900 million into Winstar
Gates on media: 'I have a stream'