Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, August 9, 1995 TAG: 9508090090
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: B-8 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE:
DATELINE: LENGTH: Short
The surprise announcement removes immediate concerns that the government might try to block the biggest product introduction in software industry history
The Justice Department said its investigation of Microsoft continues, leaving a lingering cloud over the world's leading software company and the program on which Microsoft has staked its near-term future.
Antitrust experts, however, said the move appears to reflect uncertainty at top levels of the Justice Department about what kind of case, if any, to bring against Microsoft. The government, they said, faces a far more complicated task if millions of copies of Windows 95 are already on the market by the time a legal challenge is launched.
``It should be a great positive for the company,'' said Van Kasper & Co. analyst John Girton, who said Microsoft stock could rise as much as 5 points today. Microsoft stock closed Tuesday at 931/2, down 1/8.
Federal antitrust authorities have spent months examining charges that Microsoft's marketing or licensing plans for Windows 95 could violate antitrust laws. At the top of the list is concern that Microsoft's new Microsoft Network will gain an unfair advantage over competitors if Windows 95 includes software needed to connect with the online information service.
- Bloomberg Business News
by CNB