So, Microsoft and the DOJ finally reached a settlement, which does nothing. So far as I can tell, this is no more than the Consent Decree which Microsoft agreed to in 1994 and violated numerous times over the subsequent years.
Now, the new settlement says that MS will stop doing bad things, and the Department of Justice will keep an eye on them for five years. After five years, if the DOJ determines that MS is still a naughty monopolist, they’ll extend the monitoring another two years.
You will play well with others, or we will taunt you a third time!
Your tax dollars at work (well, except you Canucks).
Update: Apparently the state prosecutors are not willing to give Microsoft the leeway that the federal government is. According to this article, the settlement is unpalatable to the states, which are showing a lot more sense than the DoJ, in my opinion. Why trust MS now, when they have broken decrees in the past with such impunity?
current_music: Nickelback – Woke Up This Morning
current_mood: tired