state governors want to design OSes now..

[Khoder bin Hakkin]

[ If I were Bill G. I'd double the price of an OS sold to one of these
States.

Since I'm not, but still resent these States, I hope they get all the
Windows OS
they deserve. ]

http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/20011205/tc/microsoft_settlement_dc_1.html

States May Ask for Unbundled         Version of Windows

By Peter Kaplan

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - State
attorneys general pressing the antitrust
case against Microsoft Corp.
(Nasdaq:MSFT - news) may ask a
judge to order the company to offer a
cheaper, stripped-down version of its Windows operating
system, a source familiar with the case said on Wednesday.

The nine states still suing Microsoft are eying the requirement
as part of a proposed antitrust remedy they are scheduled to
submit to U.S. District Court Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly on
Friday.

                           Requiring an ``unbundled'' version of Windows
is one of
                           several ideas the states are considering as
they try to come up
                           with sanctions that will be tougher than
those agreed to by
                           Microsoft, the U.S. Justice Department (news
- web sites) and
                           nine of the other states who have signed on
to a settlement of
                           the case.

        The draft remedy also would strike down a long list of loopholes
in the current
        settlement deal and do more to ensure that Microsoft discloses
key source code in
        Windows to other software makers, the source said.

        The draft also contains a provision that would require Microsoft
to include Sun
        Microsystems Inc.'s (Nasdaq:SUNW - news) Java programming
language in its new
        Windows XP (news - web sites) operating system and ensure that
its Office software
        is compatible with other software platforms, the source said.

        Microsoft had included Java in its operating system for years
but dropped it from
        Windows XP because of legal problems with Sun Microsystems.

        Lawyers representing the hold-out states held meetings today
with antitrust experts
        and industry officials to get feedback on a draft remedy
proposal, sources said.

        'GETTING AN EARFUL'

        ``They're getting input from lots of different players, and
they're getting an earful,''
        the source said.

        The hold-out states are California, Massachusetts, Connecticut,
Iowa, Florida,
        Kansas, Minnesota, West Virginia and Utah.

        Representatives of those states declined to comment on what kind
of remedy they
        will propose.

        In addition, the draft remedy proposal would require
Kollar-Kotelly to appoint a
        ``special master'' to oversee the remedy, according to the same
source.

        Under the current settlement, that task would go to a
three-person technical
        committee.

        ``I think they're seriously committed to getting an effective
remedy,'' said another
        source who has met with the attorneys general lawyers.

        The hold-out states will present their remedy proposal as an
alternative to the
        settlement reached by the Justice Department.

        In the settlement, Microsoft has agreed to take steps to give
computer makers more
        freedom to feature rival software on their machines. The deal
also requires the
        company to share parts of the inner workings of its Windows
operating system with
        other software makers.

        The settlement would be enforced by a three-person technical
committee and would
        stay in effect for at least five years.

        The department says the existing settlement terms are strong
enough to stop the
        company's monopolistic practices and would provide ``the most
effective and certain
        relief in the most timely manner.''

        ABUSED MONOPOLY

        A federal appeals court ordered the remedy hearings in a June 28
ruling, having
        concluded that the company abused its monopoly in personal
computer operating
        systems.

        Continuing to litigate could drag the case out for another two
years, the department
        says.

        But Microsoft rivals and some consumer groups have panned the
deal as weak and
        ineffectual. They say the agreement will not stop Microsoft from
retaliating against
        personal computer makers that promote non-Microsoft software.

        Critics also worry the settlement does not ensure that Microsoft
will allow a level
        playing field for other companies' add-on ``middleware''
products; and does not
        ensure that Windows will work well with computer servers running
non-Microsoft
        software.

        Kollar-Kotelly has scheduled a hearing for March to determine
what--if
        any--further--sanctions should be imposed against the company.

        Microsoft spokesman Jim Desler declined to comment specifically
on what might be
        in the remedy proposal on Friday. But he said the settlement
``represents a fair and
        reasonable compromise'' and that the case had been ``drastically
narrowed'' by the
        appeals court since the original ruling against the company last
year.