Well, the News is In and it's a Sick, Sick Joke

Declan McCullagh's Politech reports: DOJ to Microsoft: We've changed our minds -- no breakup required.
The Official announcement states:

Today's announcements were made in light of an order by the District Court directing the Antitrust Division and Microsoft to produce a joint status report by September 14, 2001, outlining proposals for further proceedings in the case. The Division advised Microsoft of its position on the tying claim and the issue of structural relief to facilitate consultations on the joint report.

For a complete rundown of the issue see this article on Dr. Dobb's Journal, but here's a quick nugget:

Bootloader as Trade Secret
So why aren't there any dual-boot computers for sale? The answer lies in the nature of the relationship Microsoft maintains with hardware vendors. More specifically, in the "Windows License" agreed to by hardware vendors who want to include Windows on the computers they sell. This is not the license you pretend to read and click "I Accept" when installing Windows. This license is not available online. This is a confidential license, seen only by Microsoft and computer vendors. You and I can't read the license because Microsoft classifies it as a "trade secret." The license specifies that any machine which includes a Microsoft operating system must not also offer a nonMicrosoft operating system as a boot option. In other words, a computer that offers to boot into Windows upon startup cannot also offer to boot into BeOS or Linux. The hardware vendor does not get to choose which OSes to install on the machines they sell - Microsoft does.

And this is the issue I've wanted to see resolved for the last four years, hell, it's been a year and a half since they were ordered to be broken up into two companies by Judge Jackson.

Really, to me it didn't matter that I couldn't unistall Internet Explorer, the issue for me has always been that there is no 'choice' when it comes to buying a Personal Computer, because every major retailer only offers one OS, and are obliged by this restrictive licensing aggreement not to offer any other OS.

The situation may be best summed up Be's CEO Jean-Louis Gassée who was once quoted as saying "I once preached peaceful coexistence with Windows. You may laugh at my expense - I deserve it."

Join the discussion on Plastic: DOJ: Microsoft Stays in One Piece [Plastic], or if you're little bit more angry, a little bit more cynical, a little bit pissed, go have a yell at Slashdot   5:31:52 PM

_As_the_Apple_Turns!_ the funniest Apple Soap on Earth!

Scene 3285 follows: See? They Aren't ALL Bad

As you are all likely well aware, Mac fans typically don't get along terribly well with financial analysts-- or, should we say, with those entities that the _rest_ of the world calls "financial analysts," but that we more commonly refer to as "scum-sucking sleaze-weasels." Aside from that brief period a year or so ago when the analysts were falling all over themselves to praise Apple to the moon, more typically they fall into a default state of telling investors that Apple is doomed. (That's why viewers are frequently disappointed to discover that our quarterly "Beat The Analysts" contest is actually about outguessing the pessimistic little buggers and not about pounding them into paste with heavy blunt instruments-- though, due to viewer feedback, we're considering changing that next quarter.)

Anyway, we're always delighted when we can find an analyst we actually _like,_ and at least for now, Brett Miller of AG Edwards certainly qualifies. As faithful viewer BOB GULIEN kindly pointed out, a Macworld UK article reports that Miller is currently "optimistic" about Apple's future.
In particular, he rates Apple's stock a "buy" because iTunes, iMovie, and
iDVD represent the "best available" consumer digital video and audio
packages out there. Moreover, he thinks there's at least one upside to the
current economic meltdown: it's "creating one of the best opportunities for Apple to gain market share."

How? Well, it's nothing we haven't heard before, but basically Miller thinks the "vicious warfare" raging between PC manufacturers in the consumer space isn't going to affect Apple's prices or margins overly much, since Apple customers-- that's us, by the way-- are "'materially uninterested' in Wintel alternatives." So while the Wintel boxmakers are slashing each other to bits, Apple can keep right on doing its own thing without being ravaged by disappearing margins, mounting debt, and a tidal wave of pink slips. And while a beleaguered Gateway is closing stores left and right, Apple is _opening_ retail locations at the rate of one a week, thus sticking the Mac in front of an ever-increasing number of eyeballs. Because of this, "Apple will be in the face of the consumer and education markets like never before."

Now this is an analyst we can trust. And then, just as icing on the cake, AG Edwards rated DELL as "reduce." Do we love these guys, or what?

To see this scene as it was meant to be seen, complete with links
to articles and formatted as originally broadcast, visit:

http://www.appleturns.com/scene/?id285

To see the complete, unadulterated episode in which this scene was
originally broadcast, visit:

http://www.appleturns.com/episode/?date=9/5/2001

As the Apple Turns: http://www.appleturns.com/
This Scene: http://www.appleturns.com/scene/?id285 This Episode:
http://www.appleturns.com/episode/?date=9/5/2001

Copyright (c)1997-2001 J. Miller; please don't forward without this
attribution and the URLs above. Other reproduction requires J. Miller's
explicit consent; please contact him at the site. Thanks.
   4:00:21 PM