Both Microsoft and the US Department of Justice (DoJ) were disappointed Thursday, as the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit denied their separate motions prior to their return to do battle in district court.

The Department had sought to have the case expedited so that it could get MS into court soon enough to seek an injunction blocking the release of the controversial WinXP. The court, however, saw no reason to alter the natural course of Justice to accommodate the release of a commercial product.

Microsoft also got shot down after having asked for another go with its arguments against the finding that bundling its browser and OS is monopolistic. The appellate court reckoned it already understood the issues well enough and declined further enlightenment from Redmond shysters.

The company is naturally eager to see that troublesome bundling bit reversed, because so long as it stands, the logic of a structural remedy can't be ignored.

Unless MS decides to ask the US Supreme Court for a review, which we reckon would end up as nothing more than a delay tactic, the case will proceed as scheduled, with a new judge to decide the appropriate remedy.

MS says it's "open to resolving any remaining issues in this case as quickly as possible," but also that it's still contemplating dragging things out further by requesting a Supreme Court review.

We'll know within a week which side of their mouths they're talking out of. ®