On May 7 Microsoft asked an appellate court to stay a December ruling while the court decides if the ruling applies to Windows 95 or Windows 98. The ruling, handed down on December 11 by Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson, prevents Microsoft from licensing Windows in conjunction with Internet Explorer. The Department of Justice immediately filed a 24-page response opposing the stay because Microsoft waited 6 months after the initial decision to ask for it. In their response rhe DOJ said that they offered to join Microsoft in asking for a clarification in March, but the company decided to wait until the later date in order to create yet another delay, thus getting Windows 98 shipped before any new rulings could be made. Despite the DOJ's protests, the appeals court ruled on the 12th that the original injunction only affected Windows 95, not Windows 98.

Also on May 12, the day Microsoft released the last major beta of Windows 98, Sun Microsystems filed two motions in San Jose, Ca. federal court that would delay the operating system's shipment date. One of the motions asked that Microsoft be required to either include a fully-compatable version of Java with Windows or remove all Java code from the operating system. The second motion requested that Microsoft be stopped from shipping development tools, like Visual J--, that generate non-compatable Java code. Sun won a similar lawsuit filed in November over the company's use of the Java logo in its software.

Following the collapse of negotiations, attorney's general from 20 US states plus the District of Columbia joined the Department of Justice in filing antitrust suits against Microsoft. The two lawsuits contain almost identical allegations and seek similar remedies. They both use e-mail and memos from Microsoft CEO Bill Gates and other company executives as evidence, and both cases request that Microsoft be blocked from making computer OEMs bundle software such as Internet Explorer with Windows. The complaints also seek to end agreements that require manufacturers and online services to avoid competing products. The states' case also takes aim at Microsoft Office, saying that the company makes it "economically impractical" for computer vendors to license other office software.
In a press conference after the filings, Gates responded that the suit is without merit. "There isn't an industry in America today that is more competitive [and] more alive, and the amazing thing is that has all happened without any government intervention," he said. This message is quite different from the one expressed earlier in the month (see story above) at the "Windows 98 Innovation Day" rally, where BillG and CompUSA president Jim Halpin said that the US computer industry is in a slup only Windows 98 can bring it out of.
Microsoft asked the court for a seven month delay in any actions while the DOJ requested a June 18 court date. District judge Thomas Penfield Jackson, who is handling other Microsoft cases, made a compromise ruling that will have Microsoft and The Justice Department back in court next September 8th and combines both cases into one filing. The court battle, which is expected to take years, may also target Microsoft products such as Office, NT and servers that are bundled with NT. NewsSource will keep you updated on this case for however long it lasts.

Joining Gateway and Dell, IBM is now offering free Windows 98 upgrade coupons with all of its computers sold before the June 25th Win98 ship date. other OEMS, such as NEC and HP, are giving their new customers discounts on the upgrade.
A Federal judge has dismissed Wang's patent infringement claims against Netscape. As reported here earlier in the month, Wang (which has multi-million dollar deals with Microsoft) filed a lawsuit against Netscape claiming that the technology in the company's 'Save As..' dialogue boxes had been patented by wang in the early eighties.
In celebration of the lawsuits against Microsoft, Oracle CEO Larry Ellison treated all 29,431 of his employees to a screening of the new Godzilla movie, which, coincidentally, was partially made with Microsoft SoftImage.
As reported in a Wall Street Journal report, Microsoft is considering a $400 million investment for 20 percent of TimeWarner's RoadRunner cable/internet service. RoadRunner has received similar bids from Ms competitors Oracle and Intel, which may have prompted Microsoft's offer.
Since 1996, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, Microsoft has jumped from seventh to first in political contributions among technology companies. The Behemoth reportedly increased their giving by 600%, from $53,283 2 years ago to more than $300,000 this election year.

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