Conduct by Microsoft in the past year would appear to repeat many of the things that were problematic here, and they do it on a larger stage.
~~Tom Miller, Attorney General of Iowa

Smash the Control Images. Smash the Control Machine.
~~ William S. Burroughs

The Chorus and Cassandra

In the aftermath of World War 3.0, the information bomb was detonated over the global media flows. From the blast epicenter of Associated Press and Reuters, the damage spread outward, first enveloping first tier: The New York Times, Washington Post, ABC News, the BBC, The Economist and The Guardian. Mid-level dailies like the Los Angeles Times and major sites like C|Net, MSNBC, NewsMax and Wired News were engulfed by aftershocks.

Financial services like Quote.com and The Street monitored the brush-fires: financial markets rallied strongly, as some financial analysts dissected the historic antitrust ruling, whilst other analysts predicted that the .NET strategy and new products including Windows XP and Hailstorm would regenerate the company's fortunes (or come back to haunt it). Although not surprised by the ruling, many competitors faced Iago-like revenge on Wall St.

Wherever you were on 28 June 2001, there was no way to escape news of the appeal ruling that Microsoft Corporation would not be split up. Forget The Road Ahead: if Bill Gates has his way, there may be no escape in cyberspace, either. But the appeal ruling has been made, the facts found, the discussion Slashdotted, and the timelines distorted. Gates' corporate self-hagiography is yet to be written, but many people are already resigning themselves to a "Microsoft life".

World War 3.1

So Bill Gates wants to settle? With the White House remaining undecided, and President Bush being cautious (will his administration take an interventionist stance?), it's a gambit for cultural survival.

Although the case has been sent back to a lower court, Microsoft's future remains uncertain, yet definately one with hubris. Andrew Leonard claims that the ruling is really a defeat, Steve Gilliard wonders at Microsoft's future direction, and the Open Source movement is preparing for a stand-off at .NET Ridge. The European Commission made no comment, leaving the "crazy wisdom" to John Ashcroft.

In the mad press scramble, "facts" had a half-life measured in months, analyses rapidly mutated, and strategic forecasts regarding the legal decision were little more than wild guesses.

New Economy pundits knew that emerging technological capabilities had transformed business and industry definitions, which is why the antirtust suit was a barometer of rebalancing economic institutions. Yet three New Economy lessons have emerged during the antitrust appeal. Legal definitions may now change as well: meet the New Economy boss, just like the old boss. Corporate governance has a Janus face.

Second Mover Advantage

As an incumbent player in the new Internet browser market, Microsoft had no inhibitions in cannibalizing its own legacy assets -- along with the breakthrough technologies of other companies.

This was the central point of the antitrust lawsuit. The same scenario, however, may be repeated when Microsoft confronts the Open Source movement, and when its latest product line is released. In the Web server application market, IBM is betting on "second mover advantage" to outwit BEA Systems.

The Microsoft antitrust case eerily replicated the 1948 Paramount Decree, by which the Classical Hollywood studios were forced to divest their interests in distribution and exhibition chains, opening the vertically integrated industry to independent producers. It took the studios only a few years to regain some control (although they would battle for another thirty years), via the backdoor of the McCarthy-era witch-hunts and post-Fordist management techniques. A non-interventionist Bush Administration may enable Microsoft to regain its rise-to-globalism within several years.

Critical theorists have long recognized that information flows have invaded and shaped our lives. Microsoft's "attack PR" tactics, stage managed appearances and celebrity-driven corporate religions took these techniques to a new level. In the months before the appeal decision, Bill Gates and Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer found an ally in the New Economy press, which was itself "undergoing realignment with new market conditions".

Botton line: you can't expect the full truth from a business press that relies on its sources for advertising revenue and lucrative "exclusive" stories.

Instant Karma's Gonna Getcha (Everytime!)

Has your dream of a widening universe of rich information turned into a nightmare?

The Hobbesian and Machiavellian tactics that is central to Microsoft's success is the business norm elsewhere. Coca-Cola manages the brand rather than the soft drink (but may face its own Coca-Karma). American Airlines cornered the market with its SABRE airline reservation system. Toyota leveraged fast prototyping. Wal-Mart utilized Electronic Data Interchange to create supplier chains and target geographic areas to drive smaller stores out of business. Nike thrived on celebrity endorsements and microsegmentation until it ran headlong into the little problem of boycotts, sweatshop workers, and the burgeoning anti-globalist movement.

The antitrust appeal ruling reminds us that the ecosystem is endangered when any company becomes more powerful than conservative laws and global institutions. Another "wake-up call" to redress the imbalance and strive for more-inclusive and open alternatives.