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Trial becomes MS Y2K problem as it stretches toward 2000

Grief, the initial verdict might even slip to Q2, with the service pack in 2000

With only nine witnesses having been heard in eight weeks, it now seems unlikely that the present case will conclude before February, and because of the amount of evidence, a decision is likely to take a further several months. Increasingly it seems that the DoJ is winning at the moment in the District Court, but an appeal by the loser is thought to be a certainty. This would most likely result in an appeal verdict in the next millennium, which could result in a real Y2K problem for Microsoft. The DoJ has filed a Motion to modify a pre-trial order by Judge Jackson to require earlier production by Microsoft of the direct examination of witnesses. Microsoft is indulging in gamesmanship, it seems, to give the DoJ as little time as possible to prepare for its cross-examination. Microsoft has been slow producing its opposition to the Motion, and so the judge asked if it was conceding the motion. John Warden for Microsoft said not, it had been filed that morning, to which the judge replied it had not been received in his chambers. The judge will decide on the issue this morning. The next witness will be Professor Edward Felten from Princeton University. ® Complete Register trial coverage

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