Most software makers reveal for free the sort of information Microsoft is being ordered to license, because anyone not in a monopoly situation has every interest in making their software as widely available as possible.

The vision is really that in the information age the microprocessor-based machine, the PC, along with great software, can become sort of the ultimate tool dealing with not just text, but numbers and pictures, and eventually, even difficult things lik

This is a pretty powerful tool. Backup software does not keep historical information like this and other tape vendors do not have the capacity to keep this information for long periods of time.

We have a new class of software that really is about information integration.

This has crucial implications for Linux on desktops.

The meaningfulness of the 2004 ruling is at stake here. So far no one has bought a license to see Microsoft's technical documentation. There is a danger that this side of the case could be rendered meaningless.