MS on Trial Riding over Microsoft's objections, Judge Jackson has decided to send the appeal in the antitrust case direct to the Supreme Court.

Earlier in the case the judge had indicated he felt it would make sense for the inevitable appeal to go straight to the highest authority, but Microsoft has been wriggling, and the appeal court has played ball to some extent by showing a strange eagerness to take the case on.

Microsoft argues that sending it to the Supremes may mean it'll take more, rather than less, time - and actually there's at least a possibility that Microsoft is right this time. But probably only a small possibility.

Now the ball's in the Supreme Court -will it take it, or not? If it does, will it get on with it, or will it spend a long time sucking its collegiate teeth? More importantly, how sucessfully will Microsoft be in staving-off the really bad stuff while the legal process takes its time in coming to the ultimate - but still extremely distant - conclusion? No, we don't know either... ®