Microsoft finds ally in Bush administration

[entanglement]

"WASHINGTON: Nearly a decade after the administration of President Bill Clinton began a landmark effort to break up Microsoft, President George W. Bush's administration has adopted a different course by defending the company both in the United States and abroad against accusations of anticompetitive conduct, including in a recent complaint by Google.

The policy shift reflects a substantially different view of antitrust policy, as well as a recognition of major changes in the marketplace. The battlefront among technology companies has shifted from computer desktop software, a category that Microsoft dominates, to Internet search and Web-based software programs that allow users to bypass products made by Microsoft, the largest software maker in the world."

"In the most striking recent example of the policy shift, the top antitrust official at the U.S. Justice Department urged state prosecutors last month to reject a confidential antitrust complaint filed by Google that is tied to a consent decree that monitors Microsoft's behavior. Google has accused Microsoft of designing its latest operating system, Vista, to discourage the use of Google's desktop search program, lawyers involved in the case said."

http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/06/10/frontpage/msft11.php

Connecticut state AG Blumenthal says some states are taking a hard look at antitrust issues in Vista

http://www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,1631882,00.html