Seattlement terms nixed by Judge

Windows schools giveaway "predatory"

By Andrew Orlowski in San Francisco • Get more from this author

Posted in Software, 11th January 2002 20:57 GMT

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A district court judge has rejected Microsoft's proposed settlement in the private law suits brought against the company.

Microsoft's $1.1 billion giveaway of computers software to US schools would constitute "court-approved predatory pricing," if approved, said Judge Motz. He didn't, and it's back to the drawing board for The Beast.

The cynical proposal was criticised on the grounds that would extend Microsoft's monopoly into the education market, which has been a loyal Mac stronghold. Over 40 per cent of US schools use Macintosh computers.

Motz gave a strong signal that Microsoft's revised proposal would have to be a lot more generous: he deemed there was "insufficient value" in Seattlement (Private Edition)Version 1.0.

A year ago Motz dismissed 38 suits from customers who had acquired Windows as part of an OEM bundle, even though state law allows such an 'indirect' acquisition to be treated as a direct relationship. ®

Bootnote:The term 'Seattlement' was contributed by a reader from the Liechtenstein.

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