Antitrust Grudge Match Grinds OnAntitrust Grudge Match Grinds On

The lingering Microsoft antitrust case picked up speed again last week. A judge ordered the software maker to turn over detailed product information to the nine states opposed to its antitrust settlement with the federal government, while rejecting an antitrust advocacy group's efforts to quash the agreement. Meanwhile, the anti-settlement states also filed new charges, saying Microsoft is using the deal to charge some computer makers higher prices to license Windows.

The maneuvers precede key hearings slated for next month, during which U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly will hear arguments from attorneys representing the anti-settlement camp. To approve the deal, Kollar-Kotelly must find that the agreement is in the public interest. The settlement forbids Microsoft from taking punitive action against computer makers that bundle software from Microsoft rivals on their PCs. Opponents of the deal want to prevent Microsoft from integrating its browsers and other utilities with its operating system, a sanction absent from the original consent decree.

All sides want to put themselves in the best light before next month's hearings, analysts say. On Feb. 15, the judge ordered Microsoft to make parts of the Windows source code available to the dissenting states, which are battling Microsoft's contention that Windows and its browser are inseparable.

Last week, Microsoft said it would open the Windows code to some system integrators. Microsoft says the move is in response to customer demand; others see it as an effort to appear more open. "It's hard to see why integrators would need access to the source code to do their integration work," Aberdeen Group analyst Tom Manter says. "That's what the APIs are for."